Who is Next?

Who is Next?

Seeing everyone starting to drive, it can increase the anticipation to finally get behind the wheel; where are they getting education however? Being educated on the statistics of car accidents, injuries, and deaths is a next step to lower the numbers in the past. The importance of this matter outranks many other scenarios, especially when over 225 million U.S. citizens are licensed to sit behind a wheel.

A step to be taken to fix an issue this big would have to require participation from everyone. Having licensed citizens take a renewed driver’s test every ten years would help examine and show who is still eligible/able to drive safely on the road. Going to schools to provide real life stories have shown significant results, but the stories have only reached so far. Recently, studies have shown that elders 65 + have been reported for more crashes and deaths than the younger generation. Maybe a next step to be taken is for classes for the older to remind them of wrecks, as well as physical exams to make sure they are still in good health to do so.

When I first started driving, I was involved in a car wreck. Since then, I have received my license with no more wrecks on my record. A year after I started driving, there were two incidents where I had friends pass away from car wrecks that greatly affected the community around us. The deaths of my two friends were hard to grief but it was even harder to be comfortable with a car after. Weeks upon weeks were spent wondering what could’ve happened in their cars that made such a thing possible. Since then, it made me almost paranoid to drive on the road, but it made me a better driver in the long term. This pushed me to be better not only for the people on the road, but for my past friends. Going to another funeral that I could cause kept me alert at times.

Simple but life changing steps can be made while being in the car. Instead of checking your phone, something like having a mount set up on your dashboard could help. When having friends in the car, make sure they understand that you want them to be just as aware of your driving. Stay alert of others on the road, because even though you may be following all the others, others aren’t. A part of driving is watching and going along with other people on the road. You never know which life is next.