For the Community

For the Community

Imagine you are driving down an open road with the windows down, top down, gentle wind blowing through your hair, hand slightly out the window to feel the breeze, your favorite song blaring on the speaker. Feels good right? What won’t feel good is injuring yourself, or even worse, killing an innocent bystander because of reckless driving. To reduce the number of deaths related to driving, all drivers should be cognizant of the fact that with each step on the pedal, they are not the only ones they are endangering.

Every time we sit in the driver’s seat, we are putting our community at risk. So as drivers, we must understand that we are not the only people getting hurt if there is an accident. Drivers and passengers should take extra safety precautions such as reducing distractions and having all passengers wear seatbelts. During this pandemic, we are wearing masks not just to protect ourselves from the coronavirus, but to prevent the spread to our loved ones. One minor precaution can prevent dire situations from everyone we come across. Just like how wearing masks protect the community against the spread of coronavirus, wearing seatbelts protect the community against reckless driving. Understanding that as drivers we are also in charge of protecting our community, will help foster safer drivers.

Thankfully, I have never been in a car accident. However, within the first few months after getting my license, I have experienced times when I was near colliding with other cars. I was not focusing on the road as much as I should have been and was more invested in the song that was playing or the conversation I was having. During these occurrences, I did not realize I was about to collide until I realized I was going much faster than I thought have been. Those times were bad judgement calls to begin with but luckily, I was able to brake before getting in contact with the cars in front of me. I have learned from these lessons and haven’t been in a near accident since. I do not try to multitask while driving anymore. I do not listen to music at loud volumes anymore. I disengage from conversations that could distract my focus and I make sure all of my passengers are wearing their seatbelts. All drivers can take these actions to be better citizens of a community.

These extra steps are not asking for much, but it will have a tremendous impact on reducing the number of accidents related to driving. The next time we drive, let us take these extra safety precautions and proudly acknowledge we are doing this for ourselves, for our passengers, and for our community.