Why You Should Drive Safer

America relies on personal motor vehicles more than most countries, especially compared to our European counterparts. Because we are in the top five of most vehicles per person we should take extra care to educate our drivers of the dangers. Young drivers who have not completed driver’s education are 75% more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24% more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident and 16% more likely to have an accident. With those numbers that can be raised so high simply by not taking a driver’s ed class it’s lifesaving that everyone should have a vigorous class stressing the dangers and how to be safe on the open road. 

On the road there are hundreds of things that are outside your control and you have to react to them like pedestrians, reckless drivers, and watching your blind spots. One type of crash that we can control is distracted driving. In 2019 over 7% of all car crashes were due to distracted driving. There are three types of distracted driving. Manuel is when you move your hands off the wheel like with texting. Visual is where something catches your attention and you take your eyes off the road. And finally cognitive is where your mind wanders into the possibilities of the future instead of focusing on right now. One of my closest friends got into a crash recently due to distracted driving as he was talking his dog to the vet as he was sick and he wasn’t watching the car in front of him. They collided but thankfully there was no serious damage done to anyone but now he was to pay $1500 to the insurance company. But that friend has completely changed his driving approach as he is much more cautious when switching lanes and keeps extra distance from the vehicle ahead of him. 

In the 21st century our world revolves around our phones as that is how most of us stay connected and up to date but is a major distraction when driving. The problem is drivers aren’t taking this seriously as while 86% of drivers know texting and driving are bad 36% of those who know the danger admit to doing it. I think you need to hold the parents responsible just as much as the teens that are starting to drive. As parents who drive distracted their kids are 2 to 4 times more likely to do so themselves. What we need to do is stress the major importance of this and whether that is developing new technology to shut off the phone completely while driving and have bluetooth hands free calling features to cars.

Something that I would change is every five years you have to renew your license but what I would do is have people also take an online course to update them on the laws and reinforce the rules. It would be like a food handlers permit where every time you renew it you have to take the course again. I think this would greatly cut down the road fatalities with people above the age of  21 and above. When it comes to teenagers where the most reckless driving happens I don’t think adding stricter punishments will work but rather I would up the 40 hours requirement to 60 hours before they are allowed to get their license. Giving them more time to work on their skills with their parents before being able to drive by themselves.

Unlike my parents and older sister I do not use my phone while driving and do my best to be a safe driver. While they typically go on their phones on lights I still tell them to go off their phones and have in the past grabbed the phone out of my dad’s hands. I got yelled at for a while and was given a lecture on why what I did was bad but I feel he needs to break his addiction. My older sister used to drive me to school before I got my license and she has nearly gotten into a crash making a right turn not seeing the car across the intersection making a left turn into the same lane. The other car had the right of way as it was a green arrow allowing them to go. But I too am not perfect and I am guilty of letting myself get lost inside my head with my thoughts. Typically these are improbable situations I could find myself in and have no real importance in my life. I need to get my priorities in order and I have become much better at stopping my thoughts from wandering and having my full attention on the road.