Ways to Limit Deaths While on The Road

Chloe Swander

November 27, 2020

Ways to Limit Deaths While on The Road

Driver education is something that is crucially important when wanting to get behind the wheel. As a child, being able to drive and get places by yourself is a dream. Now that i’m older, driving on the road has become almost scary at times by hearing the amount of deaths that take place while driving. In order to keep myself and others safe, it is essential to be aware of the common rules of the road and how to react if I was ever in an emergency situation to keep both myself and possible passengers safe. There are many different steps that people can take to get educated on driver education, and I was blessed by being put through the Teen Driver’s Challenge course through my public high school where I learned all about traffic rules, driving, and how to handle emergency situations if necessary.

Taking the Teen Driver’s Challenge is a requirement at most high schools, and it was an opportunity to learn more about how to stay safe. Some steps that can be taken to reduce deaths from driving would be eliminating distractions in your car like the radio, using a cellphone, and even possibly your passengers. People tend to ignore the fact that even your passengers can be a distraction and get you in a life or death situation. No person would want that type of guilt and shame to live with throughout their lives, and driving responsibly with passengers can prevent a traumatic event from occuring. Fortunately, I have not personally been in a car accident, but many family-friends have lost their lives due to being hit by drunk and irresponsible drivers. I think that it is important to make sure people are aware of death-while-driving related statistics because it is ignored too often. For example, people realize that being on their phone while driving could kill them, but they continue to do it. Facing these statistics can help people realize that having a distraction like a phone in your hand should not be given the ability to kill you by causing a car accident.

I feel that it is my responsibility to encourage my friends to limit distractions on the road. Also, I need to make sure that i’m practicing what i’m preaching and make sure I take safety precautions when driving just as much as I encourage my friends and family to. Taking away distractions like using my phone is one of the biggest ways to make sure my focus is on driving and can react to any situation on the road when needed. Also, one of the biggest and most forgotten steps to preventing driving related deaths is wearing your seatbelt. It is one of the easiest ways to stay safe while driving, but unfortunately many people don’t wear it. I believe that continuing to learn about driver education is one of the most important steps to preventing driving-related deaths.