Preventing Car Accidents

On the first of January, I got into a car accident. I was driving down a dirt road with my friends in the back late at night while it was raining. I was sober and I am a decent driver. But I was not paying enough attention, my friends and I were talking, and we had music blaring, and I hydroplaned. The next thing I knew, my car rolled and I was on the side of the road. All the airbags were deployed except for the steering wheel airbag because I didn’t hit anything from the front. When I looked behind me my friends all looked at me in fear. My face was completely covered in blood.

I was the only one injured with a concussion, a broken nose, and fractured bones around my eyes and cheeks. The car was totaled, however. When I called my parents I felt so guilty. They were worried sick. I am still traumatized by it. I have nightmares about car crashes often. Having a crooked nose destroyed my self-confidence. I got a rhinoplasty on the third of this month for aesthetics but also to fix my breathing. My nose looks better, but it’s not the same as it used to be.

I got my driver’s license when I was 18, so I did not have to take any behind-the-wheel lessons. I became a decent driver since my parents taught me. I would drive to work and school. However, there were some things I was just not equipped for. My parents are good drivers, but they are not driving instructors. For instance, I did not learn about what to do if I hydroplaned. Maybe if I had taken behind-the-wheel lessons with a licensed instructor, I would not have been in a car accident. That is why I think driver education is crucial for safety on the road. I believe driving education should be mandatory for people who are 18 and older and getting a driver’s license for the first time. Driver education emphasizes defensive driving techniques. It builds safe habits that keep everyone safer on the road thus reducing deaths from car accidents..

Car accidents are common, with 42,514 deaths from motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2022. The most common cause of car accidents is distracted driving. When you hear that you probably think of texting while driving, which is of course dangerous, but there is more to it. Such as talking with others while driving, going on your phone to change a song, adjusting the temperature, and changing the GPS location. I was distracted by friends from talking with them right before the accident. Not being able to focus might have been a factor in the crash. From now on I am being much more careful not to be distracted when driving. Doing things like making driving playlists so that I don’t have to change songs and telling my friends not to talk to me when driving.

A short video that explains the dangers of distracted driving, with something like my story in it, should be widespread on social media. For example, I get a lot of anti-vaping ads before my YouTube videos, the same thing should be done for driving dangers. If people are more aware of the dangers of distracted driving, they will be more careful thus preventing car accidents. Other things like the dangers of drunk driving and exceeding speed limits could be in these videos as well.

I believe that using voice features on search engines helps with distracted driving. I think music and podcast apps having more voice features could help. Like if Spotify had something similar to Google with the “hey Google”. Advertising these voice features as an aid to safe driving on social media could incentivize people to use them. People not having to go on their phone when driving to change a song or put a podcast episode on will prevent car accidents.

Additionally, speed limits play a big role in accident severity. Studies by AAA and the IIHS reveal that even small speed increases significantly escalate the risk of injury or death. Many drivers exceed posted limits, and when speed limits are raised to match the travel speeds, people go faster. A 2019 IIHS study found that rising speed limits have cost nearly 37,000 lives over 25 years. Speed limits should be lowered and enforced heavily by law enforcement through technology like speed-detecting cameras.

As a nation, we need to try harder to avoid car crashes. Aiding distracted driving, making drivers education mandatory for people getting their license over the age of 18, having videos explaining the driving dangers on social media, and lowering speed limits and enforcing them are essential. Many lives will be saved.