Eyes on the Prize (Your Life)

Eyes
on the Prize (Your Life)

The
one thing I will always remember from taking my drivers ed classes
3 years ago is you are four times more likely to die if you do not
wear a seatbelt. I will never forget that, and I never let anyone I’m
driving with forget it either. Even before I could drive, I’ve
always known to not text and drive and to not drive drunk. It always
seems like safe driving is a given, that of course everyone does it,
that nothing bad could ever happen to you. In actuality, people
disregard it when in just an instant, one distracted look can end a
life.

One
of the most underrated things people think about is safe driving.
Sure, you see ads on television or on the radio, but they’re in
your mind for a second and then it is gone. You might think you
practice safe driving, when in actuality, you probably glance at your
phone more than you mgiht think. Safe driving should be something we
think about more often, especially as kids turn 16 and get their
licenses. I’ve heard of so many kids at school getting into
accidents and totaling their cars, but thankfully not hurting
themselves or anyone else. It’s really scary to think about, and it
enters your mind more often when it happens to people you know. With
the advancement of phones and other technology in today’s world, it
is so much easier to be distracted while driving, and kids just
getting their licenses are perpetrators of that. (Not to exclude
other age groups, because they do it too). I don’t doubt that most
16 years old are constantly on their phones when driving. Tell them
to keep their ‘head on a swivvle” as my dad says. Impressing upon
them when they’re learning to drive, taking drivers ed classes,
and after being licensed is where safe driving starts. I know when I
took my classes, it didn’t necessarily emphasize the dangers of
distracted driving. I mean, we all knew it wasn’t a good idea to
text and drive, but in that moment we all were just trying to get on
with the class. However silly it sounds, scaring them into driving
safely definitely has potential. Telling them personal stories of
accidents you or other people have been in, or explaining statistics.
If you just spout numbers at them, they won’t listen, but relating
to back to something they understand can work. For example, car
accidents are the number one cause of death in teenagers in America.
Tell them to imagine their school football stadium filled with 1,000
people, and that everyone would have to die 5 times to equal the
amount of teenage deaths from car accidents. Hopefully that’ll
incur some hard-to-believe moments of thinking and emotion. Another
thing parents can do is have them pay for any damages caused from an
accident. The money comes out of their pocket and teaches them to be
more careful with things as expensive as a car. Another, more
advanced thing to do is create a product that connects to your phone
and blocks you from being able to use it while the car is in motion.
My dad actually has one from his job called Cell Control and it only
allows emergency calls and a couple other features when driving.
Other than that, it completely blocks you from using your phone while
driving.

Other
unsafe driving includes drunk driving. Unfortunately, it does happen,
and all the time. People think they’re sober enough to drive home,
but they aren’t and they get in an accident. Sometimes it’s
nothing more than a dent but it can kill someone else. It’s
different just talking about that than experincing it or having it
happen in your community. I know that for me, seeing the occasional
memorial on the side of the road for someone who was killed by a
drunk driver will always, always stay with me. Driving drunk just
isn’t safe and isn’t worth your life or anyone else’s. When
you’re driving, your life is essentially in your own hands. It’s
so easy to avoid drunk driving; an Uber is always worth it. It may
seem hopeless sometimes to teach kids safe driving, but it can be
done, even if it’s scare tactics!

I
have only been driving alone with a license for a little over a year
now, and luckily have never been in an accident. I honestly don’t
know how people can text and drive. I can barely change the radio
station while driving. I know if I ever do feel the urge to pick up
my phone, I tell myself it just isn’t worth it. You can wait till
you’re safely stopped. My parents have gotten in some accidents in
their time, but none were major. Just some dents here and there
because they and someone else backed into each other or they hit a
parked car. None of my close friends or family have been in bad car
accidents that I know of either. I know that for as long as I drive I
won’t drive distractedly because it truly is something you can
easily avoid in order to keep yourself safe and other people. If
someone absolutely must use their phone, say, to send an important
text or to look at a map, help them out, take their phone, and do it
for them. No text is worth a life.

I’ve
mentioned this before, but what I do to try to be a better driver is
put my phone down, even if it’s at a red light. I don’t need to
be on my phone all the time, and certainly not while driving. I can,
and anyone else can, survive without it for the short time in the
car. If you see someone else driving while on their phone, tell them
to put it away. My dad used to do that before he got his cell
control, and I’d tell him to get off it and he always would. If you
see a friend or anyone at all trying to drive home drunk, stop them.
Help them home by getting them an Uber or driving yourself, if you’re
sober. Look out for them, because even though they might not realize
it, you could be saving their life.

As
technology becomes more and more prominent in everyday life and
people become more attached to it, it’s so, so important to drive
safely. Don’t be naive and think nothing bad can happen to you. Not
everyone does it unfortunately. Boosting safe driving starts with
yourself and your friends. Get them home safely before they can hurt
themselves or someone else.