It Could Happen to You

Amani Islam

Northeastern
Illinois University

August 1, 2019

It
could happen to you

Education.
In the case of driving, the more you know, the more likely you are to
make smarter decisions when on the road. More people need to
understand how taking what may seem like small precautions on the
road would actually lesson the amount of death surrounding car
accidents. Many individuals have this mentality that nothing will
happen to them and that they “know” what they are doing when
driving recklessly. Truth is, it is people who think like this that
take more risks thus leading to higher accident rates. None of us are
nowhere near 100% safe on the road but if more drivers receive proper
education and implement what they learn into their life, the number
of deaths as a result of driving would lower significantly.

Over
30,000 people die in car accidents and numerous more are injured
every year in America alone. This is such a significant number. All
these lives lost just from people trying to get from point A to point
B. It is time that this issue needs to be brought to light and
addressed. In recent years technology and social media pose a threat
to drivers on the road. More often now, I see people on the highway
weaving in their lane whilst scrolling through their facebook feed or
fiddling around on some other applications on their device. It’s
when I come across a driver taking these risks that I tend to get
very nervous and fear that I may end up in an accident. A step we can
take that I believe will help lower the amount of deaths from car
accidents in regards to cell phone use would be communication
campaigns. Using social media as a tool to grasp the attention of
reckless drivers is an effective action in informing people of the
serious danger they pose when engaging in those acts while driving.
Although a bit ironic, I believe that this step would be quite
effective since people are already typically scrolling through those
applications while driving and that is where their attention is
focused. Another step that I believe would be highly effective in
eradicating cellphone use on the road would not only be stricter laws
but also making sure the consequences for breaking those rules are
carried out. For example, implementing a law where if you’re found
even touching your phone for any reason, the consequence would be to
pay a pretty sizeable fee. If this law were to be implemented and
actually carried out, the rates of people going on their phones
resulting in distracted driving would lower the death rates
considerably.

Thankfully,
I am very lucky to not have ever been in a car accident but I have
had my share of close calls due to reckless drivers. When i do
however end up in a car where the driver is being reckless, I make it
a point to tell them what they’re doing wrong and how they are
making me feel unsafe. Each time I step into my car, I am putting my
life on the line and am greatly increasing my chances of being
injured and killed. Therefore, to reduce my risk of being in an
accident I make sure to be aware of my surroundings, follow all the
rules, and very importantly don’t go on my cellphone no matter
what. Another safety precaution that I take is to put my phone on
silent or turn it off as to not be distracted if I receive a
notification or call. Doing this would reduce an urge to grab my
phone greatly.

A
piece of advice I would give other drivers is that when traveling, if
you feel tired, it doesn’t hurt to pull over for the night. It is
better to get to your destination later than to get into a likely
accident on the road. Another piece of advice that I like to tell
people when the topic of driving arises is to put your phone out of
reach when driving. Especially if you have a bad habit of going on
it. Responding to calls and emails can wait. As always it is better
to be safe than sorry.