Change the Statistics

I’m in the backseat and my anxiety grows with every second. My dad is angry and from what I’ve learned in driver’s ed, too angry to be driving. He’s flying through red lights and turning around bends with enough force to turn necks. I’m clutching on to my seatbelt wishing that we got to our destination before an accident of some sort could happen. That is one of the most nerve wracking moments in my life, here’s a rule of thumb, don’t drive if you feel emotional. You’d be surprised how many accidents happen because people are in their feelings. According to some studies, you raise the chances of a car crash by 10 times by driving while angry or saddened.

It is important to take certain steps to prevent car accidents and to promote the highest level of safety while in a vehicle. I am an avid seatbelt patrol cop, the car doesn’t move unless all seat belts are on, properly. I forbid the use of a phone in the driver’s seat because distractions are not needed when you have the lives of many in the palms of your hands. If I am ever going anywhere, and I preach this to others as well, it is crucial to take one’s time. It’s better to be late to an event than dead or heavily injured. If you are ever going somewhere, give yourself time in advance to get there by leaving the initial part of your destination earlier. There’s only so much I can do as a driver and I can not control the actions of others, but I can mitigate them as much as possible. For example if I see an agitated driver, I would let them pass in the lane, or if someone is speeding, I make sure not to get in their way.

There are multiple steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving, the main way being education. Education is the key to most issues in driving related deaths, we have to constantly drill into the heads of our families and friends safe ways to drive and what habits to avoid when driving, such as driving while intoxicated or under the influence. We underestimate how much of an impact we have over our close friends and families and how much of a positive influence one person can be on others. A driver’s ed class might be the only difference between a responsible driver and a reckless one. Studies show that teens who take driver education classes are less likely to get tickets or get into accidents. In such classes adolescents learn proper driving etiquette as well as tips that are necessary to reduce accidents. Some tips include limiting distractions, staying out of the fast lane, and being aware of your surroundings. The evidence is clear, more driver education classes need to be available to the youth in order to lower ignorance and get rid of any misconceptions about driving. This information needs to be further publicized and spread through any means, including social media where it is most likely to be consumed and reach the most people. If more people are knowledgeable about the severity of driving irresponsibly then they will be willing to adopt better suited habits. A majority of accidents could have been prevented, let’s change these statistics because it is every driver’s responsibility to protect ourselves, passengers and other motorists by doing the right thing. We don’t need anymore children cowering in the passenger’s seat because of the recklessness of their parents, change the future.