Accountability and Awareness

Imagine
you’re on the road, it’s clear as day, but for one second you look at
your phone or stereo, and BOOM an accident happens just like that.
That half a second your eyes weren’t on the road, you permanently
changed someone’s life. That may seem extreme but it happens. The
roads are a dangerous place to be for anyone. Driving education can
bring awareness to students as well as the instructors making
everyone who learns or teaches a better driver. When students are
aware and conscious they can continually be accountable for
themselves, and they make sure others just like them are also doing
their best to drive safely and reduce the number of deaths on the
road. Simple solutions can be just as effective as the safest
features on a car. Initiate a no phone while driving rule for
yourself, friends, and family. If you have someone in the car with
you, have them send a text or navigate for you. Create a playlist you
know you’ll like for your drive and do not touch it after you set it.
I constantly see my friends and family on their phones, texting,
scrolling through Facebook, changing the song, or getting directions.
I hold them accountable and I will call them out if I see them doing
these things. They know that it’s not safe and that it’s illegal
yet they still do it. They swerve and speed more than normal when
they’re distracted by their phones. I know phones are not the only
form of driving distraction but they really are a major factor in
distracted driving and deaths on the road. If people will just put
down their phones and focus on the road, our roads would be so much
safer by doing that one simple thing. It may seem just basic but
think about when you drive, how often are your hands or eyes on your
phone? Think about how much safer you’d be without that distraction.