Making the Road a safer place

While educating the driver as best as possible is incredibly important there is only so much that can be taught. No amount of teaching can compare to experience. One of the first things we can do is encourage students with learner’s permits to drive as much as possible. Doing so will prepare them to deal with the dangers of the road more readily, and train them to respond to unusual situations quickly and calmly. By having them learn the intricacies of the road as soon as possible we can prevent them from making deadly mistakes later in life.

An important fact to teach, especially to the younger generation is that you shouldn’t be using your phone while operating a vehicle. The cell phone has many wondrous uses as it puts the whole internet at the tip of your fingers. However we should be strict in this teaching. Too many accidents have been caused by teens using their phones while driving. It’s not good enough to teach them not to, cause teens will ignore anyone who tells them not to do something. Instead teach them times when it is appropriate to use your phone in the car. Such as when you’re parked in a parking lot. When you’re lost and need to orient yourself. If it is an emergency, teach them to pull over to the side of the road and to take care of whatever business they have before they continue forward. It’s important to note that if they do plan to make use of the gps function on their device that they should either have a friend or family member direct them or get a phone mount that goes on their dash.

Furthermore roads are simply too unorganized. Many signs in residential areas are hidden or obscured by trees or tall bushes. Near my own home there is an intersection where the right lane is right turns only but not only is it not labeled on the road itself the intersections sign is hidden by a tree. Of course there’s also the fact that roads themselves are very poorly maintained especially in the snowier areas like Michigan. By Apportioning more public funding to the maintenance of both roads and the signs which govern them we can remove obstacles from the paths of drivers and create a safer roadway for all.