A Second to Press Send, A Second to Crash

I believe that driver education is very important in reducing deaths, for the simple reason that it teaches us how to drive the way it is intended. Driving school teaches a lot of tips and tricks to be safe on the road, and it gives practical experience to new drivers, showing them how roads and signs look, and how they can avoid hazards and unsafe situations. It also plays a big role in showing drivers how to get out of tricky situations if they are in them. Some steps that can be taken to reduce the amount of deaths related to driving are very easy. Make sure you have not been drinking or taking any drugs before driving and have gotten enough sleep to not be drowsy on the road. Also, keep mobile devices, food, or beauty products out of arms reach, allowing you to feel less tempted to use them while driving. If you have others in the car with you, ask them to stay silent, or speak quietly as to not distract you while you are driving. Finally, just always keep your attention and eyes on the road, and make sure to drive defensively, avoiding road rage, so you will not hurt yourself or others. I have had a very personal experience with an accident, involving my father and 2 brothers. We were driving to California, and me and my mother were in one car and my father and 2 brothers were in another car. Suddenly, my mother gets a call from my father saying that he got hit by another car and they are rolled over on the side of the road. When we finally got there, and the police arrived, it was determined that they were involved in a hit and run, and if the light post hadn’t been there to stop the car, they would have all died. This was a very scary and traumatic experience, and ever since then, my mother has been afraid of driving on freeways and highways. This goes to show that many families have accidents like this one, and in so many of these accidents, the families and people inside the cars do not survive. It is imperative that we all make sure to become safer drivers so things like this do not happen. I believe that the number one way to be safer on the road is to prevent distractions. Texting is a huge problem in the US while driving, and it causes people to look away from the road for extended periods of time, leading to extremely dangerous situations. It takes a few seconds to respond to a text, but it also takes a second to get into an accident and lose your life and the lives of others in the car with you. In the end, you must decide what is more important, your loved ones, or sending that text. I hope that we can all decide the correct choice, and amend our actions to reflect that choice.