Being a Safe Driver

Growing up watching my parents drive, I would always anticipate the excitement that would come with finally getting behind the wheel myself. But as all teenagers experience when beginning their driving lessons, I realized the immense responsibility I now had as a driver. With just a slight shift of the steering wheel or of the pressure on the gas pedal, I could cause serious injury or death to myself or other people. With this in mind, it is essential to educate drivers on the importance of safe driving in order to decrease the amount of deaths resulting from motor vehicle accidents.

This education needs to have many different emphasized points so that drivers understand what actions need to be taken in order to increase driving safety. Arguably the most important aspect in driving safety is wearing a seatbelt, because as emphasized in safety advertisements, seatbelts save lives. Before starting a motor vehicle, the driver needs to make sure that he/herself is wearing their seatbelt, and that all passengers are wearing one as well. Even if a crash does occur, wearing a seatbelt could save the life of the drivers and passengers, which makes it an essential step when using a motor vehicle.

Assuming the driver is following all of the driving laws and operating their vehicle properly, the next most important action to conduct when driving is to not drive while under the influence. Everyone should be taught that if you had alcohol or other focus impairing drugs, then they should absolutely not get behind the wheel. Additionally, passengers need to be sure that their drivers are not impaired, because this observation alone could save the lives of the driver and the passenger.

Although I thankfully have never been in a car accident, I have witnessed countless times drivers being distracted by their phones. Myself included, many people assume that they are capable of driving while checking their phones or scrolling social media. They feel that just because they are not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they won’t be distracted if they check their phone. This mindset is a major reason for motor vehicle deaths which is why it needs to be encouraged against through education.

One way to decrease the number of crashes caused by smartphones is to have people put their phones on do not disturb mode, and leave it in their pocket or the backseat. Just by doing this, they would be significantly less likely to go on their phone while driving. But this solution is not possible for many people, such as truck drivers who use their phone for navigation while driving. These people need their phones while driving because it tells them where to go, and this could lead to many accidents. One way to increase safety when using one’s phone for navigation is to have a phone holder on their dashboard or windshield. This way, they don’t have to leave it on their lap or in their hand, which could be extremely dangerous while driving. Additionally, navigation apps should have the ability to not allow drivers to switch apps or check texts while they are driving. If these apps add these abilities, then drivers who use their phones as GPS would not even be able to get distracted by their phones, which would be much safer.

Another impairment that is very common in drivers is tiredness. Being sleep deprived and unrested could also be catastrophic to a driver and the drivers around them, because it lowers the focus and reflexes of the driver. One way to avoid this issue is to make sure that the driver is well rested and not dozing off or falling asleep on the road.

Lastly, another important step that needs to be taught in drivers education is to not distract the driver. Even if the driver does all the correct acts by putting away his phone, putting on his seatbelt and not being impared, an accident could still occur if the passengers distract the focus of the driver. Examples could be seen in teenagers who have just received their licenses and wish to take their friends for a drive. If passengers are being loud or physically grabbing the driver or other passengers, then the driver could get distracted and cause an accident.

In my personal life, I do my best to follow these rules and make sure I am being a safe driver. Additionally, I make sure that every time I am in someone else’s vehicle that they follow these rules as well. By being an active passenger and by keeping drivers accountable, the number of deaths caused by vehicles could decrease significantly. I would recommend everyone to do this as well because if everyone was an active passenger, then more lives would be saved and deaths would be reduced.