Driving may be an everyday thing, but that does not mean it is safe or easy.

Driving may be an everyday thing, but that does not mean that it is safe or easy.

Driving education is crucial in making sure that everyone who has a license knows all the little rules of the road. However this is not something that is easily accessible for many as it is often very expensive, so people who are from lower income families will not be able to get this. Learning all the little things in drivers education can be the difference between life and death in so many instances, as the little details that are covered can often make the difference. Things like which way to turn your wheel and the gear to shift to when you are losing control are so crucial in preventing fatal accidents, and that is one of the many things that are taught in drivers education that could be considered a “little thing”.

Something that should be focused on to reduce the deaths from driving is the stigma that exists around driving while engaging in dangerous behaviors such as texting or being on social media. This could be done starting with the mainstream media, mainly shows and movies. As of right now, so many of them have characters who go drive while on their phones, and they are deemed as being cool. This is especially dangerous and misleading for the younger people in America who think that engaging in these behaviors is okay and that it will make them more liked. So to make it so that teens are less likely to engage in these it is so important to change the stigma as new shows and movies are coming out.

I have been in a car accident, and I have also seen countless people in my life who drive irresponsibly. When I was around 9 my dad was driving me and my sister back to his house the day after Christmas later at night after it had snowed. We were on a dirt road, and the car slid off into a ditch, and the only thing that kept us from going all the way down was a tree. I don’t remember much from that night aside from having been a bit shaken up since I was so young, However I know that I am lucky that is the worst experience that I have had in terms of accidents, and I am grateful that it did not go as badly as it could have. In this instance my dad was doing everything right and still it ended poorly. I know that being a responsible driver is the best thing that you can do to keep yourself and others safe while out on the road, which is why it makes me anxious to see that so many people around me are not as safe while they are driving as they should be. My mom is probably the worst about it, she is constantly doing things on her phone while she is driving, even though she makes fun of other drivers for doing the same thing.

The number one thing that I do when I drive to be a safer driver is to put my phone in a place that I can not get to while I am driving that way I am not tempted to reach for it. I use the logic of out of sight out of mind with my phone because I know that it has the potential to be a huge distraction and that it is super dangerous. I think that something that I could work on to get those around me to be safer drivers is to talk to them about how it makes me feel when they engage in because I know that they value me and what I have to say. I also know that just telling them to stop with these behaviors is more likely to make them want to continue since no one really wants unsolicited advice on the things that they are doing.