Driving to a Safer Future

Driving to a Safer Future

My first car wreck was at seventeen the day before my high school graduation. Both of us involved were left without a scratch, although luckily, only my car was totaled. The wreck was my fault due to being negligent and not seeing how serious being behind the wheel is. Since that day I make sure to keep my eyes on the road and be courteous to the drivers around me. From that wreck I decided to take Defensive Driving (mainly to lower my ticket cost), but I learned more about driver safety from those videos than the ones I watched to get my license. To lower the number of road deaths we need to start teaching the new driving generation the importance of safety, and not just “don’t text and drive”.

There are more distractions around us than we realize. A big example is road rage. It can be a laugh to your friends but when the driver acts back to the other driver, they are putting lives at risk. When is a laugh to your friends worth a life? Even crying can put your life or other lives in danger. Emotions cannot always be controlled but you can always pull the car over until you feel safe to drive again. Being late is better than being deceased.

Loud music is another big distraction. While it is fun to have the music going the driver is not always able to hear what is going on around them. What if the music is so loud the driver cannot hear the car behind them honking because that car is not able to slow down in time and rear ends the unsuspecting driver? Or what if while you are dancing to the music you get a little to in the groove and get distracted then hit the car driving near you. Also, the driver needs to able to hear the car incase anything is going wrong such as a flat tire.

Drunk driving is one of the worst killers in America. Getting behind the wheel intoxicated is not funny or impressive when you “don’t know how you made it home.”. Calling an uber, calling a friend, or sleeping it off in the car is always the better option than putting your life and other lives at risk. A party is fun until your friend does not make it home, then that memory is ruined. A party does not have to become a funeral there are always other options that can be utilized. To stop drunk driving, we must continue to show the dangers of drunk driving. But now also we need to show the dangers of driving high. The road lines are not swerving around when high but reflects are impaired. Drunk Driving and driving intoxicated do not have to be one of the worst killers. If we show the dangers over and over the younger generation will see the effects they have on others.

We can stop these if we teach the new driving generation the importance of them. The importance of not letting your emotions take the wheel rather they pull over or wait to get behind the wheel. The importance of driving with music at a safe level so the driver can hear their surroundings. The importance of not getting behind the wheel when intoxicated off anything on any level. One drink could take one life. When the young drivers are being taught which sign means which thing, we also need to be teaching them how to be safe and courteous to others on the road. We cannot control what others do but we can always control what we do.