How We Can Be Safer Drivers

Drivers education is something that every parents should put their kids in. Not only does it give teenagers an important life skill but it also will help reduce the number of car accidents. Having your parents teach you to drive is one thing, but becoming properly educated in the rules of the road is another; by being properly educated you are more likely to drive responsibly then most and you are also less likely to cause accidents. Every year more and more people get into car crashes and die due to driving irresponsibly because of the lack of proper drivers ed training, by becoming properly educated we can reduce the number of car crashes.

Some other ways, aside from attending driver’s education, that we can reduce the number of deaths related to driving are as follows. Not driving while under any influence, being under the influence reduces motor skills which makes you more likely to crash. Driving under the influence is one of the most likely ways to get into a car crash, and most of the times they result in death; so by not drinking while driving, we can greatly reduce the number of deaths cause while driving. Another way to reduce driving related deaths is to get enough sleep. Young adults who have new jobs or parents who have a baby are less likely to get the recommended amount of sleep, being sleepy also reduces motor functions which can lead to car crashes while driving, which can then lead to death. By making sure we get our recommended 8-9 hours of sleep a night, we can again reduce the number of car accident related deaths.

I have had an experience being in a car crash before. I was around eight years old when it happened, I was leaving with my mother from the doctor’s office from my yearly checkup. The parking lot is arranged rather awkwardly, when you park your car is slanted upwards; which also made it hard to see if a car was behind you when you were backing up. I was in the car with my mother ready to leave the parking lot when a truck backed up from this slanted parking space and crashed into the front of my mom’s car. Luckily it hit the end opposite to the drivers seat and nobody was hurt, and the damage to the car could have been worse. This car crash was not do to the driver being under the influence, tired or being poorly educated in driving; it was merely cause due to the awkward design of the parking lot. The whole situation was handled properly and my mother and I went on with the rest of our day.

It is important to also reflect on myself and see in what ways I can improve my driving situation. I do not smoke or drink and I am properly educated in driving my attending drivers ed. But my shortcoming comes from my sleep habits. When running errands in the morning or going to school, I have the tendency to not drive the best that I can, due to no sleeping very well the night before. I like to stay up at night and enjoy personal time, but because of this my motor skills are greatly decrease which makes me more likely to get into a car crash. I need to fix this by adjusting my sleep pattern, that way I can get the recommended amount of sleep that I need to go throughout my day properly; including driving. Not only that, but I am also making people safer on the road by making myself a more responsible driver.

It is important that we all do our research on safe driving practices and also fix the driving issues within ourselves in order to ensure that we are safe on the road, and to help reduce the number of car crash related deaths.