How to Save a Life

How to Save a Life

Every year, hundreds and thousand of people die in automobile accidents. In 2019 alone, there were 38,800 people who lost their lives to car crashes. What is the reason why so many people los their lives to an accident that is completely avoidable? What is preventing us from driving safely? How can we develop good driving habits? These are some of the important questions we have to ask ourselves so we can protect our self and other from harm.

One step that we can take to reduce the number of deaths in automobile accidents is to prevent our self from getting distracted. Distraction comes in many ways and forms. Some of them include driving and texting, talking on the phone and paying attention to our screen to change songs. The way we can prevent doing this is by turning our cell phones to silent and keeping it out of reach. This will have us pay on attention on the road instead of being on the phone and getting distracted. According to an article titled “Distracted Driving” the author states “Texting is the most alarming distraction. Sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for 5 seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field with your eyes closed”. Here the author talks about the negative consequences of taking your eyes off the road. It is something that is preventable if we just turn our phone off and pay attention to the road.

Another way to prevent distracted driving is by following traffic lights and being more aware of our surrounding. This can come in many shapes and forms. Things include looking into our mirrors, not tailgating, and staying away from aggressive drivers. According to an article titled “The Keys to Defensive Driving” by Kurt E Gray, the author states “Check your mirrors frequently and scan conditions 20 to 30 seconds ahead of you. Keep your eyes moving. If a vehicle is showing signs of aggressive driving, slow down or pull over to avoid it”. If we can follow this simple rule and not only can we prevent others from causing an accident, but we can also save a life. Taking a defensive driving course can also help us not only improve our driving skills and increase the driving knowledge

I have been fortunate enough not to be involved in a car accident yet and hopefully I can prevent that from happening in the future. One of the things that has personally helped my is not answering phone calls or messages. My phone has an app which can detect when I am driving and, in that timeframe, I am unable to make or receive calls. This helps to pay more attention to the road, and I am aware of my surrounds. I have had friends who have been involved in drunk driving and they are fortunate enough that they didn’t hurt themselves or anyone else. There is zero excuse or drunk driving that one problem that is completely avoidable if people just understand their responsibilities.

• https://www.nsc.org/road-safety/safety-topics/fatality-estimates#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20an%20estimated%2038%2C800,2%25%20decrease%20over%202018%20figures.

• https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving