Education for Safer Roads

Sarah Shipp

DMV

August 1, 2020

Education for Safer Roads

One morning, I made a left turn to merge onto a busy street before school, a long line of cars waiting behind me to merge in turn. I slowly merged and as I did, I looked behind me to see a white Honda Accord slam into the car ahead of him. Horrified, I merged and continued on to school. Two days later, my backyard neighbor and friend hobbled to my house on crutches and explained how he had been turning left to merge onto a busy street before school. Distracted, he had crashed into the car in front of him. He was in that white Honda Accord. Had he been paying attention; he would have hit the brakes. Had he not been distracted; he could have avoided a leg injury and years of physical therapy.

Luckily, this was a smaller collision, and we all left the scene with our lives. Others aren’t so lucky, and though I was uninjured, this moment left a mark on me that I can’t forget. My life is not unlike most other drivers. In fact, today, distractions plague people on the road. We are human, and mistakes are inevitable, however, I believe that there are some things we can do to change the way we drive for the better. It starts with educating people on the importance of safe driving and eliminating distractions.

Education needs to come before people will start implementing steps to eliminate distractions. When people don’t feel enough motivation, it is hard to get them to change. I think that the very best form of education would be for high schoolers who have been in car crashes to tell their story. This would be very powerful because young testimonies can move the hearts of many people, including stubborn teens who do not want to listen to their elders. As people start to truly understand the impact that distracted driving can have, they will consider their actions more seriously.

Next, people should be given a list of things that can help them reduce distraction, such as turn on your ‘do not disturb while driving’ phone option while driving and letting the passengers in the car know that they need to focus while driving. Having this conversation will make everyone more conscious of how they are acting, reducing distractions for the driver. People can also plan to prepare anything they need before their drive begins (like makeup and GPS directions) and give themselves plenty of time to get places so they aren’t tempted to speed.

Sadly, crashes happen every day. Let’s do our part to reduce distractions and increase awareness. The final part of education should be making a pledge. Each time a presentation is given, or a story shared, ask the listeners to pledge to change three driving habits. By consciously making the decision, people are much more likely to remember and actually DO IT.