The Importance of Safe and Smart Driving

The Importance of Safe and Smart Driving

Imagine this: you’re at a four way stop. You pull up at the same time as another person, to the left of you. If one of you was not paying attention in drivers ed, this scenario could be dangerous at the worst, and very awkward as you try to wave each other through at the best. Even small traffic rules like right of ways at stop signs can be very important in the world of real driving and are important to know in order to prevent accidents. Driver’s ed also taught me what to do if I pull up to a stoplight that had an electrical shortage or for whatever other reason is broken and switched over to blinking red/yellow lights. In those kinds of situations, it is easy to spot the people who didn’t pay attention in that class. They don’t know how to react in those situations which puts them and other drivers in danger.

When I first got my license a few years ago I became a very reckless driver. Sixteen and invincible, right? Luckily, I’ve never been in a true accident. The closest I came to an accident was slamming a deer on a rural highway doing sixty-five. It was definitely preventable. I was speeding, at night, while changing my music. Had I been watching the road better, or even going the speed limit (55), I probably would’ve noticed the poor deer soon enough to slow down and avoid it or even stop. That was an eye-opener for me, and since then I’ve tried to be a more responsible, self ‘aware driver. I also try to politely remind friends and family about safe driving habits now when I see them doing something dangerous. For example, when we first started dating, my girlfriend would always text and drive. After a few months of friendly nagging, she now waits until she reaches her destination to check those messages.

The biggest thing I think can improve driving safety, other than just paying attention to the road, because that one is obvious, is taking care of your vehicle. If you’ve never checked your oil or are running your tires at like 12 psi because you’ve never checked your tire pressure, you’re likely going to have a bad time on the road, whether it is from a flat tire or a destroyed engine. The biggest thing that I ever done that made me feel noticeably safer on the road was get new tires. Instead of running the cheap bald tires my car came with I switched to a nicer, all terrain tire and since then I have felt a noticeable change in how my car performs on wet, snowy and icy roads. Instead of running over snowbanks in the road median to slow down, I feel like I can trust my tires’ grip enough to simply brake at lights when there is lots of snow or a layer of ice on the road.