The Metal Beast

When I was 5, me and my mother were on our way back home after she had picked me up from school, taking our usual route at the speed limit of 45 mph. We had stopped at an intersection with a two-way stop sign, with cross traffic, which also had a speed limit of 45 mph. The intersection had clear views of all roads, up to a certain point, as the area was generally hilly. When we stopped, all directions were clear, and we continued past. From the passenger side, in which I was in the passenger side back seat, a truck, going about 50 mph, hit the edge of our trunk door. The door went flying into the street, however the truck never stopped, and I don’t recall anything coming of the incident, as we were not entirely financially stable for any lawsuits. Had my mother been any slower, even by a second, or if the driver had decided to go faster, maybe 53 mph, I could have been killed.

Every driver is in control of a machine that has the power to kill someone, even if the victim is the strongest human in the world. Automobiles are dangerous, being the cause of almost 2 million deaths. However, it is the person who controls them that is at fault for any accidents. Each of their decisions while driving can either be the cause of an accident or be the cause for avoiding them. This is true, even when their decisions are not even relating to the vehicle. Drivers could be driving while “multitasking”, whether this is putting on makeup, eating, or simply texting someone. These hobbies would likely not form if teenagers were properly educated in driving.

The modern generation can be considered spoiled, when compared to slightly older ones. In today’s day and age, almost every kid has an electronic device, which provides access to almost unlimited communication among peers, most music in the world, and various forms of entertainment. The issue with this is that teens like to use their phones while driving, as they believe it important to put the enjoyment of themselves over the safety of all others on the road. The way that these kids are being taught the dangers of phones are simply statistics, which doesn’t help them. By showing numbers, there is more chance for them to become bored by such research. This does not mean they should be put into a scenario like crashing a car to learn the dangers either. Perhaps if we showed them the actual aftermath of car crashes, like images of the state of the vehicles and people inside them, perhaps they’d take driving more seriously than before. Simply expressing the aftermath through words is not effective on teens’ minds, rather advertisements depicting the results would leave a lasting image in their thoughts, giving them a drive to not be distracted while driving.

Today’s drivers are distracted, impatient, and, worst of all, sloppy. As recorded by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, “50% of drivers said they had exceeded the speed limit by 15 mph on a freeway in the past month, and 40% reported exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph on a residential street.” Half of the number of drivers on the freeway have admitted to breaking the law, however this doesn’t account for those who are unwilling to tell the truth about this. This is worse for those speeding on a residential street, as 40% admitted that they’d be breaking the law, even while it could be endangering children. The issue at hand is that the law is not being enforced, and people are taking advantage of this. This issue is not able to be solved easily, it is an issue that needs fixing on several levels, including the police force.

While this issue is not easily solved on a major level, I know that I and others can contribute to helping this on a smaller scale. The method that I use while driving is being a passive driver, not an aggressive driver. To be a passive driver, I am patient, I properly give others the right of way, and I never try to make sudden movements, always being responsible with the vehicle. An aggressive driver would likely rarely use turn signals, drive quickly, brake hard, and likely try to force their vehicles into spaces that would normally be unideal. By being kinder to those who are on the road, however, it can spread the idea that maybe the other drivers should do the same.

The machines we have made simply for transportation have been the result of more deaths than the Civil War, but the fault still lies in man. If humans were to be more careful with the gifts that we have made for ourselves, we could limit the amount of deaths per year, instead of being the cause for the numbers to increase. By being safer and more respectable drivers, we can improve the current state of the world and the safety for ourselves and everyone around us.