Is Looking Down Worth the Many Lives Around You?

Picture yourself driving down the interstate to work or school, thinking about all of the projects, assignments, deadlines, personal events, important tasks to do that day, and so much more that occupies your brain at any moment while driving. It can be easy to get swept up in these thoughts and get distracted, maybe even not notice that you are starting to drift into the lane beside you where a semi-truck is driving by, or the car that is sitting in your blindspot when you are about to get over into the next lane. The possibilities are endless when it comes to mistakes while driving. These mistakes can have a grave impact not only on your own life but on everyone else around you. Let’s go back to the beginning of the scenario and alter it just slightly. Instead of thinking of everything in your own life, think about all of the vehicles around you. More specifically, the lives occupying those vehicles. The Nissan Pathfinder to your right may have a mom and her two kids she is taking to school; the Ford F150 in front of you could have a grandpa and grandma heading to their grandchildren’s recital; the Subaru to your left might have a young teenager on his first drive to school on his own. A life, or many lives occupy every vehicle around you at any given moment and each one is worth paying attention to the road for.

I have seen, first-hand, an accident that very well could have put me in the hospital, or worse. It was a frigid morning in January and we had gotten significant snowfall the night before. To make matters worse, ice coats practically every inch of the backroad. I had stayed the night at a friend’s house that night and needed to get home before the weather got worse. Thankfully, my car had good tires and a four-wheel drive to accommodate the conditions. As I was driving extremely cautiously and watching every vehicle that was moving around me, thanks to my mom and dad’s dutiful teaching when I was learning to drive, I saw a work truck coming from my right out of a backroad that was over a ditch. I could tell that the truck was moving much too fast to come to a stop at their stop sign, so I slowed to a stop in plenty of time to watch the truck flip right off the road and land upside down in the ditch. Had I not been paying attention to my surroundings, I probably would have freaked out if I all of a sudden saw a truck coming at my vehicle at high speeds, slammed on my brakes, slid right off the icy roads, and into the same ditch that the truck was in. I had never been so grateful that I had a good driving education. This is just one instance where driving education has proven to be exceptionally essential.

A good foundation when it comes to driving education is a necessity for anyone beginning to drive. The more precautions that are taken, the more likely the chance will be that someone makes a good call when an accident is about to happen, or even better, prevent one from being possible. Every day, more lives are taken by driving accidents, whether it be because of driving under the influence, not obeying traffic laws, or simply not paying attention while driving. I know many people my age who look down at their phones while driving to quickly change the song that playing, thinking that they aren’t texting and it’s only for a few seconds. However, those few seconds could cost a life. In just a few seconds going 45 mph, you drive 198 feet. A lot can happen in 198 feet. In 198 feet, you can run a stop sign and crash into a car with two parents coming home from the hospital with a newborn baby in the backseat. In 198 feet, you could not notice the truck running a red light that T-bones your vehicle, resulting in a crash that could leave you paralyzed. In 198 feet, you could not see the young child riding their bike across the street, abruptly crash into them, and end their life. The bottom line is that distracted driving is the culprit of too many lives lost to vehicular incidents. One life lost in a preventable car crash is too many when there are so many steps that can be taken to ensure accidents don’t happen. The first step in solving the problem of deaths related to driving is thorough and intentional driving education. It should be mandatory to take a driver’s education course along with passing the road test before receiving a driver’s license. Another step could be not being afraid to voice your concern when you see friends or family members driving unsafely. Too many preventative measures can be taken to reduce deaths related to driving for lives to still be lost every day on the road.