Driving as a Profession

Joshua Fregoso

2021 Drivers Ed Essay Contest

The Importance of Driver Safety

July 31, 202

Driving as a Profession

Over 30,000 fatalities in driving accidents occurred in 2019. For majority of drivers this number does not cross their mind when behind the wheel. Often times they are more concerned with the finding the right playlist on their phones or responding to a text message their bestie sent them. Not necessarily speaking for the majority but a frequent occurrence among drivers today. Having driven from Los Angeles to New York and back twice, been a transporter in my time in the military, and a courier for an auto parts store, I have spent most of my professional life on the road and I’ve seen just about everything. Driving distracted, recklessness, intoxicated driving, and not obeying traffic signs. All of these are common causes with distracted driving being the the most common of all them. The importance of driver safety has never been more important and one that feels close to home given my past occupations.

Many can relate to being stuck in traffic and finding it long and tedious. This in itself incites impatience in people which which provokes irrational behavior. Being in a stop light with heavy traffic, it is tempting to check one’s phone for a text or an email. Distractions do occur, and most notably caused by today’s tech phones since they offer a way of entertainment from the chore of driving. In order to teach better driving habits, there should be a way to establish educational programs discouraging phone use while on the road.

Recklessness also affects the number of fatalities on the road. This ranges from speeding to road rage and in some extreme cases manslaughter. Such is the case as the story broke out of a road rage killing that costed the life of a 6 year old child. An event sparked by road rage between the victim’s mother and the passenger of the other vehicle who was wielding a handgun. It is a problem that affects every motorist and contributes to the increase of death rates by car. And this is why it is so imperative to teach better driving etiquette because of the considerable differences it would make to prevent actions such as these. It is true that emotions play a major role in judgement. And though the reality of it is not always as pleasant, road rage is a problem that can be prevented. As such the individual actions of each and everyone plays a significant role in preventing the deaths caused by road rage.

By now it is commonly agreed that alcohol and driving do not mix. Intoxication by alcohol has contributed to a significant number fatalities as well. I have seen it on one such occasion where someone intoxicated drove recklessly through the town which prompted me to follow the driver and call 911. As alcohol levels in the body rise, the judgment of those under the influence are significantly impaired. Now there are programs to spread awareness of the dangers of intoxicated driving like the Every 15 minutes. The programs have been effective in showing the real consequences of these decisions highlighting the real cost of drinking and driving. It’s important to keep these programs to reach the youths in high schools today because they have demonstrated to be effective.

What makes the education of driver safety so important is to understand just how many cars are on the road. Roughly 287 million cars are on the road in the US which is a very large number compared to other countries. Everyone shares the road with one another in a vast network of roads and highways throughout the country. The amount of people on the road generates heavy traffic in some areas with high volume of motorists. It can be very unpredictable but we all want to reach our destination alive and alright. Which is why teaching about the dangers of being on the road with any of these actions and ultimately becomes everyones’ responsibility as a driver. As a profession, it is still something I look back on as something I took pride in. Prior to working we took classes on driver safety as it was imperative that we understood the real dangers. When it came to my profession as a driver, we took safety measures to ensure we did our work with out causing any harm to ourselves or others. We were given classes for these safety practices like that of SIPDE (Scan, Identify, Predict, Decide, and Execute) prior to starting the job that would give us an approach to defensive driving. Many people on the road may have not taken those same courses but I would vouch the importance of these courses to help educate safer drivers.

Work cited

Media, N. H. T. S. A. (2020, October 1). 2019 fatality data show CONTINUED annual decline in traffic deaths. NHTSA. https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2019-fatality-data-show-continued-annual-decline-traffic-deaths.

Winton, Richard, et al. “The Road Rage Killing Of 6-YEAR-OLD Aiden Leos: What We Know about Suspects, Shooting.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2021, www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-06-07/road-rage-shooting-of-6-year-old-aiden-leos-what-we-know.

“US VIO Vehicle Registration Statistics: See How Many Cars in The US.” Hedges & Company, 24 June 2021, hedgescompany.com/automotive-market-research-statistics/auto-mailing-lists-and-marketing/.