Saving Lives One Drive At A Time

Being an educated driver is an invaluable trait for all drivers, especially new ones. Being a driver comes with many responsibilities; safety is by far the greatest responsibility for every driver. Safety is thoroughly discussed in driver’s education. Many accidents occur annually due to seemingly harmless but quick behaviors while driving. Taking a quick glance at a text message, an email, selecting a playlist or station to listen to, or even just glancing at directions on an app like Google Maps doubles the chances of getting into an accident; sadly, this fact is often overlooked. This is why drivers ed is very important. Drivers Ed not only educates new drivers about the risks of using devices while driving but also guides them on how to react in specific situations, to hopefully prevent or avoid an accident.

Through the classes students take in Drivers Ed, a new driver knows immediately when they make an error through hands-on experiences with professional drivers who have numerous years of experience. New drivers also pick up skills that are very valuable for them even after they graduate from Drivers Ed. Through Drivers Ed, instructors demonstrate different turns and what to do and what not to do in certain situations, like if you miss your exit. These demonstrations help new drivers develop their own skills and experiences, which are critically needed on the road to prevent new and existing drivers from getting into accidents.

Besides learning skills in drivers education to prevent accidents, other safety measures can be taken to reduce accident-related deaths. Currently, many safety features like hands-free laws and speed limits help prevent drivers from hitting speeds that could cause cars to flip when going off ramps and reduce the number of casualties due to excessive speed. Hands-free laws have been implemented because many drivers that get into accidents are distracted by cellar devices, even if unintentionally. Vehicle safety is tested based on various speeds and the higher the speed of the vehicle when it impacts another object the less safe a vehicle becomes. Another feature on numerous highways is a safety feature for semi trucks. On the road near sharp declines, there are run-away truck ramps to prevent trucks from tipping or losing control by going down the decline too fast. On cold days where snow and ice litter the road, spreader trucks go around laying salt on roads to prevent ice from building up.These safety features every year save the lives of drivers.

In the future, to increase the safety of drivers, further tools could be implemented to account for dangerous driving behaviors. Some drivers don’t take into account that quick lane swapping and quickly moving around cars is unsafe, hopefully in the future there will be a system in the car that will prevent drivers from engaging in this behavior. Currently car makers are working on building a trustworthy, completely automated system to prevent this. Fines could also deter dangerous driving, highering the ticket amount for reckless driving can deter drivers from doing so again in the future. Despite the enforcement of penalties for drivers using phones for texting, watching videos, and browsing social media while driving, the number of deaths attributed to distracted driving continues to rise annually. Hopefully in the future a system will be implemented in phones, through the detection of how fast a user is going, to prevent a driver from using certain apps while driving.

Car accidents are scary things to go through; the more safety features that are implemented on roads and in cars means less harm to the drivers who ride on them. I have luckily only been in a car accident once in my life. I was about 8 years old and on the way to my grandmother’s house. Traffic was pretty bad with stop and go driving behaviors. The car behind our van was following very closely, and they weren’t able to slow down fast enough when our car had to come to a halt. They ended up rear-ending our car, completely ruining our bumper. Without the bumper, our van would’ve taken even more damage; even the shape of the car itself and the durability of the material are safety features in themselves. I’m grateful that the damage wasn’t so severe it didn’t total our van or hurt anyone inside either car or the surrounding cars as well. It is truly heartbreaking to witness and hear about devastating crashes reported in the news, resulting in the loss of more than a couple of lives. One of the most tragic scenarios I’ve heard is when distracted drivers hit cars that are pulled over, sometimes even killing and injuring police officers who are writing tickets to pulled over cars. This is why safety on the road is very important for not only drivers to be aware of, but for them to also be mindful of watching their actions instead of thinking that their actions don’t have consequences.

While being on the road, there are numerous actions that I and others can make sure we utilize to not only be safer drivers but also protect others around us. Basic skills like using the signal, mirror, over-the-shoulder, and go (SMOG) when turning lanes makes a significant difference. Another easy behavior to modify is to make sure we have our music set to a station or playlist that we like before we start driving. Watching our speed, being aware of the road and individuals around us, and not being distracted can potential help decrease accidents. I hope that with new safety features being added in the future on cars and on the road, it will drastically decrease the number of deaths caused by car accidents.