The Toll of Being Unsafe and Ways to Help

Being a safe driver yourself is a great way to keep you safe, but what about other people driving around you? Driver education is vital in reducing the number of deaths that occur behind the wheel. For instance, when it rains you need to be aware of the danger of hydroplaning; during the winter months, you need to be aware of black ice. Both hazards are extremely dangerous and cause crashes or even deaths yearly. Just last year, someone at my school hydroplaned into a light pole on the way to school and had to have surgery to fix his injuries. He was on our school’s baseball team and could not play for the remainder of the season all because he was speeding on a slick road after it had just finished raining heavily. More things to be aware of are what to do if traffic lights are out and how to properly read traffic signs. Some people speed through red lights as if they cannot see them, and some people do not understand that a traffic light that is not working becomes a four-way stop. I have personally almost been hit by people flying through red lights and it is a very scary encounter, for I did my part in ensuring my safety but at the last second, they came speeding out of the blue and nearly took the front of my car with them. Worst of all, they never even flinch or hit the brake. Although I do not know of anyone dying behind the wheel, thankfully, I can understand that it is horrible and in most cases just simply knowing how to handle your car in different conditions could save so many lives annually on the road.

To reduce the number of deaths people could be more aware of their surroundings. By this I mean staying off their phone, constantly checking their mirrors quickly for any dangers that could be coming up behind or beside them, and glancing at the sides of the road in front of them to ensure no children or animals are about to dart out in front of the vehicle. This is especially a hazard in more rural areas with the amount of deer, skunks, wild pigs, opossums, and many other types of animals because they are very likely to dart in front of you so you have to be aware of them to avoid them. Another way that would most likely feel a little stupid, dumb, silly, or whatever you want to call it is simply going online and taking a driver’s ed practice test. This would retest your knowledge making sure you still know the rules of the road and what certain signs say. Therefore what most people would consider a stupid little test for teenagers getting ready to get their license would actually be a very smart thing to do to ensure that you stay safe and understand what most things on the road mean and how to manage you and your vehicle on the road.

I have seen someone closely related to me driving irresponsibly and I was in the vehicle with that person. It was quite scary and made me question if that person should be driving. This person is from a rural community where they rarely leave and we were traveling in a larger city where there were signs and traffic flows that this person was not used to. Because of this person’s unfamiliarity with the area he got a bit turned around and confused. He started turning left on a red light, for whatever reason, and a car nearly wrecked into the side of his truck. This experience was very scary and I informed him of what he had just done he looked so confused, but I explained it to him and he said he was sorry for his mistake, how it affected me, and how I felt about my safety with him driving.

Some steps I, and many others can take to be a better and safer driver is to ensure the road conditions are good for driving before you get on the road. When on the road, make sure there are no hazards that present a clear danger to us, and if they do present danger how to avoid them or manage them safely without dangering either party, the hazard itself or you. To help others around you, you can encourage them to take a free practice test, or you can make it a fun competition to see who can make a higher score on the test because that ensures that both parties are being reminded or re-educated about road safety all while endeavoring in a little friendly competition.