My Experience with Distracted Driving

Driver education teaches you everything you should know before driving. It does teach some basic things like a stop sign means to stop. However, many things that are not obvious before you start driving are taught. An example of this is what blinking lights mean at intersections. If the light flashes red, it means treat it like a stop sign. Other things are taught too like where to stop when there is a stop sign. Another thing is who has the right-of-way at a four-way stop. These may seem simple, but they can prevent accidents and death. Blinking lights at intersections can often confuse those who do not know. This results in people doing the wrong thing. Where to stop for a stop sign is important as you want to ensure that you do not enter the main road, but also do not cover crosswalks. You can endanger yourself or others if you do not stop in the proper place. Right-of-way at a four-way stop is important as sometimes people do not know whose turn it is, and they start to go at the same time. This is because of confusion and can cause crashes. This is especially dangerous when it is a large four-way stop intersection, or when the traffic lights are all flashing red at a busy intersection. Driver education leads to more knowledge and ensures that proper and safe actions can be taken.

Currently, I believe the biggest thing to reduce deaths related to driving is stopping phone usage. Today, so many people are obsessed with their electronics. Depending on where you are, the laws vary. However, phone usage is usually not caught. Whether looking at a phone or not, taking your eyes off the road can be very dangerous. This is because something can happen very quickly that endangers you or others. Even though I have been driving for several years now, I still must focus very hard on driving to keep myself and others safe. I would like to think that I am someone who does not use my phone as much as others do. I never use it while driving and rarely try to do anything when it is connected to the car. However, it concerns me when I am not driving and I look around, seeing almost every driver on their phone or their phone is on their lap or something similar. Thankfully, I have been able to catch more easily when someone is distracted. I can usually notice when they keep going over the lines or are changing speeds a lot.

To my knowledge, I have never been in a full car accident. However, my dad was driving his truck once and my mom and I were in it. It was his work truck, so it was large. We had stopped at a light, and someone came around the corner a little faster than they should have and bumped into the car. There was little to no damage, and everyone was fine. One thing that does concern me is my oldest sister’s driving. I do not know how many accidents she has been in, but it is probably more than five, she is in her early thirties. Thankfully, there have been no casualties, except a deer, but I do not think she was driving then. Recently, she has been having seizures, so some of the accidents may be correlated to that. She has now been diagnosed with epilepsy. She had a seizure or two when she was younger, but it only became an issue in the past few years. She is allowed to drive after she has six months, or something similar, without a seizure. However, this is not the only problem. I often see her on her phone while driving, which concerns me. She is also not the safest driver as she often goes over the speed limit. Phone usage is one of the main reasons why I like to drive, because I do not use my phone.

I am not a perfect driver either. When driving alone, I often have my phone plugged into the car. I may call people. I may click on it to read a text message. I may also voice aloud a reply text message if I think it is important enough. However, if it does not come through a call, it is usually not important enough for me to read. If I am riding with my mother, then she usually has her phone in, and I do not call anyone. If it is important enough, they will call my mom. Or I will ask my mom to call someone if they called me and I see it on my watch. I also usually follow directions on the car screen, which distracts somewhat, but is also important when driving. I can be a better driver by not clicking on text messages and replying when driving. I do believe that answering phone calls and having directions is important. I should also do my best to not get distracted by my watch when I am driving. I am a good driver in other ways like being around the speed limit and stopping fully at a stop sign. I often stay in the right or middle lane unless I am turning to the left. I can help others be safer by reminding them to not be on their phone. If I am riding with them, I could request that I could text for them. Because my mother does not drive anymore, I am usually the driver for her. I have become a lot more comfortable with driving and I hope that I can continue to be a safe driver with no accidents.