On the highway to safer roads

The transportation industry has changed drastically throughout history. Before the Model T, humans used horses, before horses we had to walk. However, with these new more convenient methods of travel an unsung danger arose. Nearly 37 thousand Americans die in car accidents. For reference 37 thousand is the relative enrollment size of Florida State University which has nearly three times the amount of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. More people died in the Korean War which lasted for 3 years than the number of Americans that die in one year due to car accidents. However, only we the drivers of today and of the future can decrease this number by educating ourselves on driver education, and practicing safe driving habits.

There are nearly 230 million licensed drivers in America, one step they can all take to reduce the amount of driving fatalities is increase their level of situational awareness. Are you paying attention to the 18-wheeler that keeps pressing on their brakes? Are you aware of the car in front of you that is drifting slightly to the median? Are you aware of the speed limit? Are you aware of how fast the other cars are going? These are the different examples of questions that can determine how aware you are of everything going on around. Now by being able to answer these questions you can adjust how you are driving to avoid car accidents and thereby protecting those the other drivers around you.

As a young driver my driving habits have been molded by my parents. My father is a very aggressive and reckless driver, however has only been involved in one accident. My mother on the hand is a slower more cautious driver, however my mother has been involved in multiple accidents. The key differences are that my father is more situationally aware than my mother. One of the accidents I was involved in with my mother was a T-bone my mother did not see the car fast enough and did not stop in time to avoid getting hit. I believe I follow a mixture of both of my parents driving habits. I drive slower compared to my dad but I do a better job at paying attention to my surrounding than my mother. I believe that one thing I can do to become a better and safer driver is to reduce the amount of distractions in the car. When I am driving by myself, I like to listen to very energetic and loud music. This not only impairs my ability to hear, but because I like the music I sometimes like to sing along and when I don’t like what is playing I like to switch songs. Because of this, it can mean that both of my hands might not be on the steering wheel, or I might not be fully paying attention to the road. In order to combat these habits, I am trying to not listen to my own personal music and listen to the radio which offers a mixture of songs and genres. I believe that this helps my problems with distractions as the music played on the radio is out of my control, and because of this I will be less tempted to take hands off of the steering wheel. The difference between having your full attention on the road compared to having divided attention on the road can mean the difference between a safe trip and a funeral.

Drivers education is important in reducing the amount of deaths caused by driving because driver’s education can help people attain the knowledge, skills and attributes they need in order to maximize safety. Obeying the rules of the road is just a start in becoming a good and safe driver. However, recognizing dangerous behaviors and knowing what to do is something that is often overlooked and is an essential piece in reducing the amount of deaths caused by drivers.

As population continues to grow the amount of drivers there will be. This does not mean however that the amount of people that die due to car accidents has to increase as well. “While driving it only takes a spilt second to ruin your future, harm or kill somebody else and tear a hole in the hearts of your loved ones”(Sharon Heit). As humans we have an unwritten responsibility to keep the roads safe so that everyone can get to where they are trying to go.