Distractions v.s. Safe Driving

About 283.4 million registered cars in the United States and driving is one of the most popular ways of getting around. Cars…you see them everywhere you go. Big, little, medium, fast, and slow, cars all different sizes and speeds. With driving being one of the most popular ways of transportation there are also thousands of crashes happening everywhere. I’m here to tell you why safe driving is important in our world and how YOU can reduce fatalities.

As seen on the website’s graph, there are a tremendous amount of deaths from motor vehicles that continue to rise every year. Safe driving is so important because there are so many lives being taken too quickly and too soon due to something that we can so easily fix. There are many ways you can improve not only your driving, but the fatalities that come with driving. A few things that you can do to improve your safe driving is making sure you avoid as many distractions as possible, staying calm and collected during stressful situations, wearing your seatbelt, and of course following the rules and laws of the road. All of these examples are great ways to keep our roads safe and to reduce fatalities. In my essay I’m going to talk about only one of those examples, one that I think is the most important and that I have the most experience with: Distractions.

Distractions are a big cause of so much non-safe driving. If you’ve ever attended a Drivers Ed class then you probably know that almost anything can be a distraction. Phones, people, food, cars, lights, and music are just a few that you see constantly when driving. If we can reduce even some of these distractions, then we can improve more safe driving habits and less fatalities. Some ways to do this is putting your phone on “do not disturb” or even a place where you can’t see it. If you’re listening to music, keep it at a safe level where you can still focus and hear what’s going on around you. Along with that, turning it on before you start to drive is a great idea so you’re not constantly changing the station or finding something to listen to while driving. Don’t have too many passengers than you’re used to and don’t pile more than you carry. This one I see a lot especially at high schools which is a bit more scary due to high schoolers being more new drivers. Try not to eat while you’re driving, some may say they can multitask and do both, but unfortunately that’s false. You may think you’re multitasking, when in reality your brain is just switching between the two things. One second away from the road and a crash is more likely to happen. The more we try to avoid distractions as best as possible, the more safe driving there is, and the more lives saved on the road. Unfortunately, I have even had a few occasions myself of unsafe driving that I was lucky for the outcome.

There have been multiple times where I have either almost been in an accident or have been in an accident due to unsafe driving. Along with myself, I have a few close to me who have experienced the same situations. For me, my family and I had been in an accident involving three cars, two of which had been distracted. It was backed up traffic so thankfully it wasn’t terrible. The person in the car behind us had reached down to grab their phone after dropping it causing them to lift off the brake pedal. They ended up backing into us and after they braked the car behind them( also on their phone) started moving. This caused them to end up bumping into the first car and back into us. We were so lucky to only have a small damage and no injuries. This story may not be tragic but it shows just how a simple looking away or a distraction can cause something so quick.

Now I’ll admit I’ve definitely done a few of these or engaged in some of these distractions. As hard as it may be, I encourage you to join me in eliminating not only our distractions, but the fatalities and the lives being taken on our roads. It’s as simple as putting your phone on “do not disturb” or taking a few minutes to turn on the music before driving. I hope that my essay has inspired you to take charge to improve your safe driving habits as it has mine.