Name: Vani Shah
From: Austin, TX
Votes: 0
Fortunately, I’ve never been single handedly been involved in a car
accident, however, my cousin wasn’t quite so lucky. He found
himself lying on his side in his chair, held by his seatbelt, and
wondered what went wrong as he heard sirens around his now ruined
vehicle. The accident wasn’t his fault, but situations like this
happen far too often in the United States considering cars have been
a massively popular mode of transportation for decades now.
Just recently, I
was in a car with my friend driving the both of us downtown when I
noticed her reaching for her phone to text some other friends that
she was going to be late. We were at a red light, so she didn’t
think much of it, but I instinctively told her to put it down, and
that I could send the message for her or that she could pull over
into a parking space and text them there. She laughed, and agreed,
thankfully for me, because it was rush hour, and I knew that the
slightest distraction from the all the different elements of the road
could turn our fun weekend out into a lifetime of regret. Other
distractions, like excessive worry what song is on the radio or a
fallen bag, could also lead to disaster for everyone in the vicinity.
On another hand, not using the indicator lights before changing lanes
or turning or checking your car’s blind spot could lead to an
avoidable accident. This is where drivers eds importance really
shines, because if all drivers knew about and felt comfortable using
the parts of cars designed to make driving safer and recognized the
importance of safe habits, like not texting and driving and driving
at a safe following distance, then the roads would be significantly
safer and many preventable deaths would be, well, prevented.
I believe I can
become a safer driver by always remembering that missing a turn or an
exit isn’t the end of the world, and that there’s no reason to do
anything unsafe to try and force a turn when the situation doesn’t
let you, and letting my friends know the same. Additionally, I can
refer my younger friends to our state’s Driver Handbook, so they
can find answers to any of their questions from a reliable source and
clear up any misconceptions they might have from the internet or
other people.
While my cousin
wasn’t killed in his accident, thousands of others are; driver
education would allow for many, if not all, of those accidents to be
prevented through informing current and incoming drivers about basic
laws and safe habits to ensure America’s roads are as safe as can
be.
