Name: Ryan Hogg
From: Prosper, Texas
Votes: 4
Safe
Driving: It’s Life or Death
Being
a safe driver is good, but sometimes it’s not good enough. Nowadays
you can’t just be a responsible driver, but you have to constantly
be vigilant of all the cars around you. Drivers ed does a
good job of teaching new drivers how important it is not to be
distracted while driving, however for some drivers it takes a brush
with death to teach them a lesson that they will remember for life.
No
one should ever be told by their parents that a peer was killed in an
accident, let alone an accident that wasn’t their fault. But last
summer, it almost happened to me. A group of my friends were driving
responsibly when another driver that was on their phone ran a stop
sign and hit them. They’d done everything right, they didn’t
blast music, get too rowdy, they were following all the rules of the
road, but the one thing they forgot was that not everyone on the road
was a safe driver like them. Luckily no one was hurt, but I learned
an important lesson as a driver, that the key to being a great
defensive driver is to simply assume everyone else is a distracted
driver. Unfortunately, the only driving I can control is my own. By
teaching new drivers how to become better defensive drivers that
predict and avoid accidents before they occur, the roads will become
a safer place.
Another
way to promote safe driving is to make parents aware that when they
drive distracted in front of kids, their kids will do it too since
they grew up watching their parents do it. Parents should realize
that when they drive distracted in front of their kids, they not only
put them at risk in that moment, but they are also increasing the
chance that their kids’ will later become distracted drivers,
further putting themselves at risk.
While
some propose enabling a “Do Not Disturb” setting on drivers’
phones, a better solution would be to change people’s perspective
on distracted driving. If everyone knew how much risk was involved in
sending that last text, skipping the song, or grabbing that
milkshake, then the roads would be a safer place for all drivers.
