Sofia’s Safety Standards

“Keep your eyes on the road.” “Don’t text and drive.” “Always have a designated driver.” These rules have become the standard for road safety. However, are they enough? Why are they not always followed? I have found that for myself, and my fellow adolescents, many do not follow these, because of an “everyone but me” complex. Death and serious events seem impossible for us, as we feel like we have so much more life to live. Though conscious of it, I still have this thought process in the back of my mind. What has helped me the most with driving is overcoming this sense of control over mortality. It is bleak, but it is real. Driving is a real task with real responsibility. Focusing on this has made myself and those around me safer drivers.

Living in the fourth largest city in the country comes with its perks, but the freeway and style of driving is not one of them. Driving on the same freeways with thousands of people, forces a stark encounter with people with different levels of concerns with their safety, as well as that of those around them. You have to go beyond following the three basic rules above when driving in such an environment. You could do everything right, and will get into an accident. Even if you and those around you are safe drivers, there are more risks to driving around than the actual action. Driver’s Education teaches you how to drive and what to do when you are driving, but they never really talk about what to do when you witness an accident, or when your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. For this reason, I created my own three basic rules of road in addition to the standard.

Number 1: Share your location with a trusted individual and let them know you are driving. With modern cellular technology, whether your phone is dead, lacks reception, etc., phone tracking services can still trace it down. This could be beneficial in nearly any circumstance. With someone tracking your phone, they can see if you are on your planned route, or if you are going the wrong way, and if so, they can alert the proper authorities to ensure you are safe. It is also important to tell someone when you are out driving, so that they know not to text you, or offer any other distractions.

Number 2: Always have a planned route. Getting lost is primarily an annoyance, but can also serve as a distraction whilst driving. If you attempt to drive somewhere by guessing, or memory, and end up lost, then you will probably be tempted to use your phone while driving to figure out where to go. You also do not want to end up in an unknown area where you do not know what to expect.

Number 3: Share your standards with those around you. At first, sitting down with those around you who drive to talk about driving safety can come across as overcautious. However, it could genuinely be the difference between life and death. Never be afraid to consult a friend or family member about what you feel may be an unsafe practice. Being a teen, I hear of many around me driving under the influence, or distracted, whether it be by their phone or something else. This may impact you if you ride in their car while they are driving, themselves, or even complete strangers on the road. These discussions are better to have, rather than learning the dangerous and hard way.

Driving is a scary and serious task, and it should be treated as such; however, this does not mean you just hope for the best. There are things each of us can do as drivers to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and unknown strangers around us safe. Fear and ignorance around driving is what you make it. Setting these standards when it comes to driving for myself and those around me has made me feel more comfortable on the road. I have also encouraged my friend to define some of their highest regarded safety rules when it comes to driving. How safe one feels is subjective, so these personal standards are significant, because feeling safe means being less tense. Being a stressed driver is also not a healthy and safe way to drive. I implore everyone on the road to create their own guidelines for driving and taking on the open road.