Solution to Road Casualties

The importance of reducing deaths from driving would be better road preparation as well as emphasis on being a responsible/safe driver. There are a lot of stressful moments we all had growing up in our younger years, one of those moments would be getting behind the wheel or taking a drivers test for the first time. After a while of practicing, you get used to it. You learn that it’s not that bad, and from that, you relax. When you relax, you get comfortable, but the problem that ties into deaths as a result of driving is getting TOO comfortable. Some drivers like to push their seats back really far, only keep one hand on the wheel, multi-task while driving, give the road divided attention, etc. This is dangerous because not only are they out of focus from driving, but they also become vulnerable to accidents, they’re clueless on the fact that the vehicle has slightly drifted over the solid yellow or white line, or drifting into another lane without knowing it. On top of it being dangerous for yourself, it’s dangerous for others. You could hit someone while we are not focused, leaving both drivers to a head-to-head collision on a 2-way road or a skid off the road and into a ditch. Chaotic accidents that are caused by a simple mistake, the most common mistake of that matter. Steps to reduce the number of deaths from driving would be teaching older and predominantly younger drivers to be more safe on the road and commit to following procedures that tie into responsible and safe driving. Enforcing this allows the ability of drivers to understand the importance of driving responsibly, consequences of driving recklessly, and the logical reasoning behind why it’s better to drive safely. That logical reason being that if one person can follow rules, then most definitely anyone else can, and when everyone does it, you create a better atmosphere when you’re on the road. I personally don’t know if there is a specific term for this, but some drivers fear the road because of others and how they drive. Understanding the logic for everyone abiding by safety rules and procedures would lessen that fear. Think about it for a second, if one person followed a set of rules and maintained good driving etiquette, and those same set of rules were applied to everyone else, you think it would make a few changes on the road, no? Along that step, another big step would be to mandate certain factors to driving, rather than just being lenient with it and letting it “slide.” This will alow people to be more aware of themselves on the road. I have never been in a car driving or riding where an accident occurred, but I have been in a situation where we got pulled over. It was me, my sister, my 2 cousins, and my Tia. We were having a blast, jamming out in the car, getting ice cream, it was awesome. I was 9 at the time and had no knowledge of driving or safety laws, but I vividly remember a moment when I noticed we had run through 2 red lights. I knew the difference between stop and go but I paid no mind to it. We were going at least 10-15 above the speed limit from what I remember. I heard a siren behind us and I was very scared, they pulled us over. From there I didn’t know what had happened, but with my knowledge today, I realized why they pulled us over. As a young driver such as myself, I do not have as much experience or knowledge of driving compared to others who are older than I am, but just because I am younger doesn’t mean I can’t be a more responsible driver. 2 of the causes for the most casualties while driving is maintaining high speeds and not paying attention to the road. Ironically, 2 of the most important road safety laws are avoiding distractions and respecting speed limits. The high casualties are due to irresponsible driving as a result of simply disregarding the laws that are set in place. A way I could become a better and more safer driver would simply be abiding by the laws and driving standards set in place. It may sound crazy but it’s that simple. Now this could help others by doing the same thing as I would, which is abiding by the law. By that logic, if everyone followed that, it would be a safer driving environment.