The World is a Scary Place

On average, 1.35 million people are killed in car crashes each year. The sad truth behind many of these deaths is caused by distractions and/or recklessness. This may seem like a big number and it may seem like an unfortunate event that will continue to take over the world, but it doesn’t have to be. Many of these accidents can easily be avoided if and when drivers learn and live by driver education. Think of a study guide for school: you look over this guide many times in order to not fail your test. That’s what driver education is. You study all the rules of the road and know everything about being a smart and safe driver before getting behind the wheel. If you don’t, you’ll fail the test; in other words, death can rapidly approach.

The answer to reducing the amount of deaths is easy. Most of it was in the book that we all studied before we took our permit test: follow the rules of the road. Read and obey every sign you see on the road. For example, speed limit signs are to keep us going at a safe speed that won’t be too dangerous for our surroundings. You go too fast behind another car and they suddenly brake, but you have no time to stop yourself. There’s another accident to add to the list. Use your turn signals. You have them for a reason. If you were on a two lane highway in the right hand lane and you needed to turn left soon, you would start merging to the left hand lane. It’s all fine if you use your signal because cars that are already in the left hand lane were warned ahead of time and can avoid you. On the other hand, if you don’t use your signal, a car behind you could easily crash right into the back of your car because they didn’t know you were switching lanes. No, not all answers are found in that study book. Some answers just come from common sense. Don’t check your phone while driving. We all know our phones are a huge distraction and if we check it even once on the road, all focus is lost and a wreck is bound to happen. Don’t drink and drive. This should be self-explanatory. Being intoxicated leaves your body vulnerable and you can’t always control what you do. No control plus driving is not a good combination and serious accidents can happen in the blink of an eye.

Witnessing a car crash can be horrifying, but actually being in one can be much worse. About a year or two ago, my grandma was heading home from town with my little cousin and their new born puppies. The drive was going fine until she got to this one specific road. My grandma started slowing down to turn left and continue home, but what she didn’t realize was that there was a semi-truck coming from the opposite way. Although the semi had the right of way, she started turning left anyways. In a matter of seconds, the semi had hit the back of my grandma’s car. Her car was totaled, my grandma was scratched up, my cousin was in a neck brace for weeks and is still afraid of any car she passes to this day, and all of the puppies ended up dying due to internal injuries from that wreck. She was distracted and didn’t pay close enough attention and suffered the consequences because of it.

I want to be a good example for many drivers. I want to obey all of the laws and stay as safe as I can. When I have passengers with me that are not driving yet, I will try to educate them on rules and safety regulations that they should know before they are the ones driving. Also, when I am the passenger and I see the driver doing something they shouldn’t, I will put a stop to it to assure that we are as safe as can be! This world is a scary place with many scary drivers, but with a little effort to do better from everyone, we can make this world safe again!