On the Path to Safety

Emily Kozina

10/06/2020

On the Path to Safety

The importance of driver education is key to the fact it could reduce the number of deaths of driving. Being informed and being more vigilant will help you drive safer and be safer on the road. According to UNL News Release, called ‘Study; Drivers ed significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets’ said, young drivers who have not completed drivers education are 75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket & 24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal injury accident and 16 percent more likely to have an accident. Also, with this in mind, you have to take into account the distraction factor with our smartphones. This has also caused a rise in accidents because people are too busy playing with their phones, instead of paying attention to the road on your daily commutes.

Some steps that you can take to reduce your risks on the road is to follow the laws. Which may seem too obvious, but some citizens do not do it. Whenever you are somewhere, pay attention to the road signs. Like the speed limit signs, construction signs, roundabout signs, etc. Another thing is to be cautious when the road conditions are bad. I have been a part of a couple of accidents (that weren’t my fault), but I have learned from them. One thing I learned is to be careful when it is raining. One of the accidents I have been in was when I was sitting waiting to turn on a narrow road. While I was sitting waiting to turn, this girl hit me because she braked too hard & hydroplaned into my car. This didn’t cause any damage physically to me or the car, but it made me more aware. Another thing I experienced first-hand is just distractions in general. Either your phones or looking at something off to the side of the road could become a problem. My friend always has her phone in her hands or her eyes on her apple watch to change a song or answer a Snapchat. I tell her all the time to be careful and to be aware of your surroundings. It could just take a second for you to veer away from the right side of the street and hit someone. Indiana put a law in place where if you are seen on your phone while driving, you could be ticketed 500 dollars. Which is a good start to keep everyone’s eyes on the road. Another example is my family members, a lot of them get distracted when they see an animal or a weird thing off to the side of the road. This worries me because just for a second they could go and overlap the lines on the other side of the street.

Some steps I can take personally are some habits. Something I could take into account is having a set playlist. Having this would make me not touch my phone as often. Another habit I can adopt is being more observant with not what’s behind me, but what’s in front and beyond my car as well. I maintained a habit of always paying attention to someone up my rear end instead of in front. Making this habit disappear could cause me not to brake as hard when I need to stop & also, I am less likely for me to get into an accident in the future. Some other steps I can take personally is to be more aware of the laws & the different signs of each state I go to. Even if I went to drivers’ school, it still does not make me aware of things that are happening in each state. Lastly, I think that if we keep ourselves informed and more cautious when it comes to driving, we could lower the risks of accidents and keep everyone safe.