Better Safe than Sorry

Better Safe than Sorry

Driver education helps new drivers learn the basics of driving. You must know what signs mean and how to react to them. As long as you know what means what, there won’t be accidents that lead to deaths. In order to help reduce deaths, laws must be followed. Everyone knows about not driving under the influence, whether it’s phones, drugs, alcohol, exhaustion, etc. Another step to consider is always to be aware of your surroundings. While you might be a good driver, that person in front of you may not be. The person on the other road may not stop at that stop sign. The person in the other lane may be on their phone. The person behind you may be dozing off. You should always pay attention to those around you.

In my seventeen years of life, I’ve been in about two car accidents. The first one my mom had picked my siblings and me up from daycare and the other driver wasn’t looking at the road. I believe he was on his phone. No one was seriously injured, just scrapes and bruises. The cars were totaled, though. The second one was with my dad, sisters, and grandma. We were going to visit a family member. A teenage boy had run a light because he was looking at his phone. Our car ended up in a field. No serious injuries in this one either. Quite recently, my second car was totaled. I was not in the car, it was parked in front of my house. Someone rear-ended it because she was sleeping behind the wheel. My car ended up down the block and her car was in the middle of the road. No one was hurt in this accident either, but both cars were completely totaled.

No one in my family is perfectly safe behind the wheel. My dad will drink, sleep, and play on his phone while driving. My mom will use the voice to text while driving. My stepdad falls asleep on the way home from work. My sister will very rarely be on her phone while driving. My grandma is really bad with her phone if it makes a sound she has to see what it was. She’ll freak out, though if it’s on silent. I’m doing better. If I have someone with me, they take care of my phone needs, If I’m alone, though, I will flick between music. That isn’t safe, though. I shouldn’t be on my phone at all but you gotta have a good bop.

My biggest issue is the music. I should choose music before I put my car in drive. Never use your phone while driving. If you have a passenger, have them use it. You need to be an example. If you’re the passenger, offer to take care of their calls and texts. Glancing at your phone may only take a second, but so does an accident. If you’re looking at your phone and you swerve just a bit, you could end up on the side of the road.

Don’t ever encourage your friends to drive under any kind of influence. You should always have a designated driver if you’re out with friends and family (also be of age). Don’t try to drive after drinking because you think you feel fine. There’s never a 100% guarantee you won’t be in an accident. You don’t want to be responsible for another person’s death because you thought you were okay to drive. It’s better safe than sorry.