Have Faith and Drive Safe!

Have Faith and Drive Safe!

In my great state of Texas, driver education is required for anyone who under 18 who is getting their learners permit. I recently took my driver education course in June 2020. I sat with my friends and people aged sixteen, fifteen, some even fourteen learning about the signals on the car, road signs, dangers of driving and what seemed like the most covered topic, how to drive safely. My friends and I sat there wondering why the educator would need to show and tell us some of the most gruesome crashes I have ever seen. Why would they show us the videos of teenagers that passed away due to reckless driving? Now that I look back on it after I received my license those videos were the most impactful. In driver’s education knowing how to read the signals on the car, how to read the road signs, dangers that could be forthcoming in your future, and learning how to drive safely all have one thing in common…. to lower reckless driving which can ultimately lead to death in a motor vehicle. This makes driver education the most important part of your driving career.

As far as reducing the number of deaths caused by driving the automobile industry are working towards preventing such unnecessary deaths. For example, my parents recently test drove a Tesla and I also had the pleasure to experience the drive and by far is one of the safest cars I have been in. Tesla has impact safety around the whole car. They have front and side impact protection and low rollover risk to help reduce overall damage. Another innovative feature that is standard are forward facing, blind spot monitoring and rear cameras which provide a full view around the vehicle. The cameras have the capability to be turned on to be viewed in real time while driving. This will help monitor live traffic as it moves through your blind spot for extra awareness. The car is also equipped with forward facing radar that can detect up to 160 meters and show a long-range vision of vehicles, pedestrians, intersections, stop lights and even construction. It can even tell you exactly when a light is going to change by sounding a chime inside of the car. The Tesla also has twelve ultrasonic sensors to help with blind spots as well as detect nearby cars while driving and parking. In addition, the sensors also help with lane changes and making sure you are not too close to other cars (tesla.com). This electric environmentally safe car is taking the right steps in increasing driver awareness which can reduce fatalities. However, the technology has an increased cost, as other automobile makers follow this trend the price will be affordable for us all.

I have never personally had an experience but I have had someone in my immediate family be in a car accident which resulted in totaling the car. One summer my dad was on his way home from work and while he took his eyes were off the road looking for something in his car, he had bumped the curb enough to flip the car over three times. Luckily my dad had his seat belt on and the side curtain air bags had deployed which help reduce the possible head drama that could have occurred in this type of car accident. I like to think God was watching over my dad this day because my dad was able to come out of it with only a couple bumps and scratches. He was doing fine within the next couple of weeks and was able to do what he did before the crash.

Steps that I can take as a new teenage driver today is reminding myself being on my phone or checking social media 24/7 is not something to do when I am driving. Social media is on everyone’s radar these days but when driving it can cause a car crash which can result in fatalities. My full attention should be on the road and not looking somewhere else because anything can happen in a split second. I should also practice driving etiquette which includes using your signals to communicate with the other cars around you, looking both ways before entering an intersection, being observant, etc. Most importantly I can put on my seatbelt which is the first step for being safe in a motor vehicle. I would preach safe driving and make sure I am a good example to follow to have which will impact others to practice safe driving.