Safer Driving 2021

Andrea Soto

DMVedu.org

1 August 2021

Safer Driving 2021

I have recently started driving a couple weeks ago and, like most people, I’d like to think that I’m very responsible while behind the wheel. There are times, however, where I do notice that I become a bit distracted while driving which is very bad practice. Just last week, I was driving with my mom and got a call from a friend of mine. Because of the call, the music that was playing had stopped since I was using Bluetooth. Because I really dislike driving in complete silence, I asked my mom if she could fix it so the music would start playing again. My mom isn’t great with technology, so she gave up after she tried fiddling with my phone and the radio a couple times. I kept glancing at the radio because I wanted to fix it, but I couldn’t since I hadn’t reached a red light or somewhere I could stop. Because of the how focused I was on the radio, my mom told me to watch out since I was started to move out of the lane I was in without realizing. Thankfully, there were no other cars around, so nothing happened. If there were other cars around me, I could’ve been in big trouble because I could have easily crashed or hit another car.

This recent experience had acted as a wakeup call and has made me more careful while driving. Now, if I ever feel the need to change the song or do anything that requires taking my attention off the wheel, I start by asking the passenger if they can solve the problem. If they can’t, I wait until I’m at a red light or stop sign where no one is around to fix the problem. If I do not encounter either of those and the problem is really bothering me or the passenger, then, I get into a parking lot as soon as I can to try and fix the issue, so it won’t distract me while driving. My problem with having music on may sound very silly but I believe that it’s a lot better to be safe than sorry, so I’d rather solve the problem at a time where I don’t need my full attention behind the wheel rather than when I do. Additionally, since this whole situation started because I got a call while using Bluetooth to play music, I started putting my phone on “do not disturb while driving mode” before I drive in order to try and keep this problem from happening again.

Putting an end to this habit is important because taking my eyes off the road for two seconds can create a number of problems depending on the situation. Thankfully in the most recent instance, I was not around any other cars but other times I may be. By getting rid of this awful habit of mine, I will make myself, my passengers, and the people driving around me safer since I won’t be putting any of their lives at risk.

Much like me, many people have distracted driving habits, some aren’t even aware of them! I sadly have been in a car accident due to a distracted driving habit. It was one day I’ll never forget. My mom was driving me home from sixth grade and we were just about to get home. Suddenly, we sped up and slammed into a tree two turns away from my house. Thankfully, no one was hurt but I remembered being terrified because it was a completely normal day, except it ended in ended in tears. My mom and I quickly got out with our two dogs and called my dad to tell him what had happened. All the neighbors gathered around to see what the cause of the loud noise was. When asked what happened, my mom didn’t exactly know how to respond. Later, however, when we got home, she told me that she was lost in her thoughts and when she came back to reality, she saw something run across the street, so she tried to slam the breaks. Instead, however, she hit the gas which caused the car to go out of control and led to us hitting the tree. Although it wasn’t a huge accident, it’s one that I remember very clearly to this day and has kept me from partaking in distracted driving habits since I know the repercussions of such acts and would like to keep the possibility of them happening to a minimum. I feel like a lot of people don’t realize how dangerous distracted driving habits are until they’ve witnessed or experienced an effect of it first-hand. This, however, is not ideal so instead, in order to help others, become safer on the road, I can share my experience with distracted driving habits to raise awareness of what can happen as a result of distracted driving habits getting out of hand. I can also make certain recommendations of what someone can do if they were in a similar situation to those that I have experienced.

Additionally, a part of driving that I feel isn’t talked about often is driver education. Driver education is very important in reducing the number of crashes and deaths as a result of driving. A study was done by Newman and Shell about the relation to driver education and number of crashes or tickets given to those that took driver education. It shows that taking driver’s education lowers the chances of crashing and getting tickets which also decreases the chance of deaths caused by driving. This is because driver’s education shows proper safety measures to take while driving, teaches about road signs, shows videos to help students better understand driving situations, and much more. All the information provided in driver’s education is very useful as it makes one feel more comfortable about driving since they’re learning a lot of what they need to know for when they’re off on the road. Having this information stored helps them when they’re in the situations covered in driver’s education and makes them better prepared. Rather than hitting the road with barely any knowledge about driving or no knowledge at all, they’re able to drive with the information they’ve gathered after having taken driver’s education. Also, since I have taken driver’s education, I recall having to watch multiple videos and reading modules about driving under the influence and its effects. The one video that I remembered the most was a group of friends that lost two friends in an accident because they were driving under the influence after a party. They were 18 and were driving home after a party but never made it back home. These types of driver’s education videos are very important since they show people what could happen to them if they ever decide to drive under the influence. It makes it feel more real since they’re watching a video about real people who lost loved ones because of an idiotic choice. Because of these types of videos and information in driver’s education courses, it dissuades people to partake into these bad habits and effectively decreases the number of deaths that could have come as a result.

According to the “What Are the Most Common Car Accident Fatalities?”, the main cause of driving-related deaths is distracted driving. In order to decrease the number of deaths related to driving, I would recommend including a lesson about distracted driving in driver’s education and having videos with real people who have partaken in distracted driving and have unfortunately had a bad experience in order to show how real distracted driving is to people learning to drive. This will remind learners that fatalities due to distracted driving can happen to anyone of any age and any level of driving experience. Additionally, I recommend having examples of distracted driving and solutions that one can take to keep them from partaking in distracted driving habits. For example, two solutions to the common distracted driving habit of using the phone while driving is putting the phone further away or putting using Bluetooth to connect your phone if able to. By providing solutions to these problems, the possibility of people passing away due to distracted driving habits will decrease and lower the number of driving-related deaths.

Although it may not seem like it, writing this essay has benefitted me already since it has made me more aware of the distracted driving habits I have and distracted driving habits of those around me. By being able to reflect on my distracted driving habits I feel like I’m more knowledgeable on what to do if I ever catch myself while partaking in these poor habits. Additionally, by being able to confront my negative driving habits like this, it has made me more knowledgeable on the effects that these bad habits could have and can have if they happen in any other situation. Additionally, this fall, I will be starting as a freshman at the University of Miami. I will be commuting which entails driving to class every day. Because of this, I will be faced with the possibility of partaking in my distracted driving habits everyday but, I plan to continue to abstain these distracted driving habits of mine by continuing the solutions I have set before and discussed previously. By continuing the solutions that I have found, I will be able to drive more safely and will know what to do if I ever catch myself partaking in the poor distracted driving habits.

Works Cited

Newman, Ian, and Duane Shell. “Study: Driver’s Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets.” Study: Driver’s Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets | News Releases | University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 13 Aug. 2015, newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study:+Driver’s+ed+significantly+reduces+teen+crashes,+tickets.

“What Are the Most Common Car Accident Fatalities?” Auto-Related News, Trends, & Tips – I Drive Safely, www.idrivesafely.com/defensive-driving/trending/most-common-car-accident-fatalities.