Driving Is A Privilege, Not A Right

Sitting in the front passenger seat of my friend’s car with two other friends, we head out for frozen yogurt. Throughout the whole trip, my friend driving is looking at her phone constantly, and braking way too late for comfort at multiple red lights. I try and tell her she needs to be more careful when driving and to get off her phone, to which she responds with, “It’s fine we haven’t gotten in an accident, and I have experience.” I remember at one point she used to take her car out for drag racing, and still had those habits ingrained. Then add the fact that she uses her phone to text other people. I’m sure anyone would be scared to ride with her. Now that I’m going to have my car in college this fall, and the fact that I try to drive with extreme caution, my two other friends will most likely have me drive, with having the approval from one of them, since she has experienced it for herself.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that any automated vehicle can be considered a weapon. If not used responsibly and properly, you could kill multiple people with just one wrong move. It’s almost like owning a gun. It is critical to be educated about how to properly operate the machine in a safe manner in order to minimize the amount of accidents, and minimalize severity of those accidents. So, it is imperative that there is proper education when it comes to driving. Knowing the rules of the road should be number one priority, as well as practice with an instructor who is experienced in teaching new drivers.

Some of the steps that can be taken are very simple. First off, put the phone away. The text message can wait, and I’m sure whoever is contacting you would like to see a reply from you again, alive. There are also features installed in phones that can turn off notifications, and send automated messages to people letting them know that you are driving. Technology has come a long way. Use it. Second, drive paranoid, but not to the point where you get physically anxious, where it can inhibit your driving ability. Just expect other drivers to do the worst thing possible, and plan for it. Third, get some seat time in before you get your license, with another adult in the vehicle for supervision. As scary as it can be, practice and experience are the key components to make you a better driver, as well as knowing your limits. As you’re learning, you may feel uncomfortable trying something new, and that is okay. Get comfortable first, then once you think you can move on to the next step, move on.

Finally, it all boils down to common sense. Unfortunately, that seems to be lacking in many people, but have common sense, be educated, and drive defensively to minimize the number of accidents on the road.