Safe Drivers Save Lives

Safe Drivers Save Lives

As soon as the car hit the ice, I knew we were in trouble. After a basketball game my junior year of high school, my best friend and I were leaving town in the midst of cold and snowy weather. The curve combined with the patch of ice sent her car in spirals. We hit the ditch so hard, the car was submerged in snow. It happened so fast, I had yet to put my seat belt on. After the car stopped spinning and tipping from side to side through the snow, my best friend and I looked at other with an understanding: we could have died. The responder that came to pull us out of the ditch said it was a miracle the car did not flip and kill us. This is the moment I realized the importance of driver and passenger safety.

I always thought of driver’s safety as something plastered on bookmarks that were handed out during reading month. However, now that I am a driver, it has become something I think of every time I enter my car. Driver’s safety education is important when trying to teach drivers in order to protect the driver, the passengers in the car, and everyone else on the road. First of all, more driver’s education produces better, smarter drivers and can help reduce the number of deaths as a result of vehicle accidents. Driver’s education classes can aid in teaching new drivers safety and help avoid vehicle accidents. Next, these education courses can teach drivers what to do in case of bad weather or even the actions of a dangerous driver. For example, when a car begins to skid sideways on the road, the driver should turn in the direction the back of the vehicle is skidding. Finally, buckling your seat belt is important when it comes to drivers safety because buckling up can protect everyone in the car, not just the individual person, in the midst of an accident. When it comes to driving, remembering safety rules and education can be a matter of life and death.

I learned that driver’s safety is important because I was the passenger in an accident that could have taken my life. If my friend had known what to do in the event of icy roads and a car skidding, we could have avoided nearly losing our lives. In this accident, it is still a mystery how the car did not flip. However, if the car were to have flipped, my friend and I would have both died because we did not know the importance of putting on our seat belts. We should make sure that people understand the importance of driver’s safety before they have to learn from experience.

Learning from mistakes is good; however, we should share tips in order to reduce the number of deaths by vehicle accidents. Some important tips include adjusting your mirrors when you sit in the driver’s seat, buckling your seat belt before you shift out of park, check your mirrors when you shift lanes and reverse, drive carefully in icy conditions, and using turn signals. These are just a few basic types that can help save a life.