Safe Driving Saves Lives

Safe Driving Saves Lives

Safe driving saves lives. I do not believe that there is anyone is this world that would disagree with that blatant statement, yet last year alone an estimated 38,800 people in the United States were killed in car crashes. That is 38,800 families that were devastated after receiving the gut-wrenching phone call, announcing that their mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or cousin had unexpectedly passed away. No one deserves to receive that phone call.

In life we are told that sometimes things happen for no reason at all, without anyone knowing why they occurred. No one knows why the coronavirus decided to occur this year, or if an outbreak could have been prevented. No one knows why my older brother has cerebral palsy or why my mother has cystic fibrosis. No one knows why people decide to avoid halting at a stop sign or choose to drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. No one knows why the driver responsible for the multiple vehicle crash walked away with minor scrapes and bruises while the individuals in the other vehicles suffered life threatening injuries or were killed during the accident. No one knows why these things happen, but they do. The reality of the world is that these things happen. As much as we wish life could be all roses and chocolate without a dandelion in sight, it is not.

However, in the past 5 years alone, great improvements have been made to increase the safety of people when they are in a moving vehicle. These developments include stricter seatbelt laws, improved car seats for children, increased awareness for distracted driving, and the usage of technology to prevent an accident. Nevertheless, more steps can always be taken to ensure that less people die from car accidents. Because one life is one too many.

When I was 14, I passed my knowledge test about driving and received my instruction permit, then six months later I passed my driving test and received my restricted permit. My parents had looked in to having my brother and I take drivers education courses, but the nearest classes were an hour away, and they did not work for our family situation. But I still believe that drivers education courses are important for teaching teens how to drive and educating them about the serious implications of being a driver. However, the most eye-opening driving education information I learned was at an event organized by the local law enforcement in part of my state. This event showed students a realistic mock car accident with a helicopter rescue, a fake trial, and a fake funeral. I believe more events like these should be happening to show students how important safe driving is. This is just one step that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. Other preventative measures that can be taken consist of having stricter enforcements of roadway rules, and I believe using technology is one way that this can be achieved, because when people are driving, they are not only responsible for themselves, but also everyone else in the vehicle, and everyone on the road.

Although, I am not a huge fan of technology and I believe most people are on their smart devices way too much, technology could help make the world safer. Think about it, we all hate it when your car starts making that annoying because you did not fasten your seat belt, but then you do it, because you can’t stand your car beeping at you. It also does the same thing to the passenger to make sure everyone is safe in the vehicle. The question is what else can technology do to increase driver safety?