
Name: Grace McFarlane
From: Stillwater, MN
Votes: 0
Tools to practice safer driving
What steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road?
The most important thing that I can do to be a safer driver is to limit my distractions while on the road. I would like to think that I don’t get distracted while driving, but it is so easy to quickly look at your phone or turn to talk to someone in the backseat. I know that these kinds of practices are extremely dangerous, and I do my best to avoid them at all costs.
One of the most effective ways that I have limited phone distractions is by turning off notifications and placing my phone on the seat behind me while I drive. This keeps my phone out of reach and out of sight, so there is no way that I can grab it. By restricting access to my phone, I am able to fully concentrate on the road ahead of me.
Another way that I practice safe driving is by not changing music on my speaker as I drive. Before I go anywhere, I add three or four songs to my queue to listen to as I drive. I also make sure that my phone is connected to my car’s bluetooth. Then I turn on my music and set my phone in the backseat. This is another really great way that I stop myself from looking at my phone because there is no excuse to change the music or check something. Ultimately, I chose the music that is playing, so if I don’t like what is playing it is my fault, so I need to listen to it and not choose another.
I think that this is a very important thing to practice because I often drive my siblings, friends, and neighbors around. This is a very serious responsibility because I am now in charge of keeping others safe in addition to myself, and I do not take that responsibility lightly. I know that my parents put a lot of trust in me whenever I drive, and I want to make sure that I keep that trust by being the best and safest driver I can possibly be. Whenever I drive with other people, I take every extra precaution possible to make sure that I keep myself and everyone else safe. I drive extremely slow in the snow or rain, and make sure that I have sunglasses and visors to keep light out of my eye.
Although all these steps may seem unnecessary, I think that it is important that I practice and model driving safety for others. For example, my younger sister just finished Driver’s Ed and is now learning how to drive with my parents. She is practicing the same things that I did three years ago, and I want to use my prior experience to teach her how to be safe when driving. Whenever I drive her anywhere, I make sure to point out the importance of checking the rearview mirror and fully stopping and looking at stop signs. I also demonstrate removing distractions (such as my phone) to show her that driving is a huge privilege and responsibility, and it should be taken seriously.