Safe Driving

Safe Driving

Driving is a very exciting experience for young adults ready to get on the road on their 16 or 17 birthdays. Although getting on the road sounds like a piece of cake, driving is a very serious matter and takes time to learn and master. Drivers ed is offered to help students better understand the rules of the road and become experienced. There are even other options if drivers ed isn’t for you, things like parental guidance and online sources that help educate students on driving and all it entails. Drivers education is highly recommended over all of the other learning experiences because it allows students to drive with a trained professional. Every single driver out there experiences distractions and having someone in the car when someone is a new driver will help one be alert on the road. The amount of deaths caused by car accidents adds up to more than the deaths in World War 2. If all of the new drivers entering the road take the time to learn how to properly drive, the number of deaths will drop dramatically and make the roads a safer place.

The number of deaths can be reduced tremendously by taking a few steps in safe driving. Putting on a seatbelt is the first step in getting ready to take a safe drive. Many people think this isn’t necessary because how much would a piece of rubber protect you? The seatbelt reduces the risk of death by holding one back in a collision, and without it there is a huge risk in injury or even death. Another problem with drivers today is the high use of cell phones which are huge risks for drivers and others surrounding them. Looking down at a phone for even a split second can make a difference between life or death. Texting and driving is illegal but still practiced by so many teen drivers and even adults. This plays a huge role in car accidents constantly because the sound of a notification or phone call is very distracting. An easy way to fix this problem is to enable carplay, which is where a phone is connected to the car through bluetooth and answering a call can be easily done through the push of a button. Not all cars have this option, so an even safer way is to just power your phone off and wait til you get to a safe destination, it’s better safe than sorry. Paying attention to the road and watching out for other drivers is another great way to stay safe while driving. Watching what someone is doing in front of one’s car and using the rear view mirror to look behind the car are great examples of how to be safer.

There are always so many stories on the news about car crashes that leave many people injured and even killed, but having known someone in a car crash or being in one personally is a whole other story. I had a friend back in the eighth grade whose brother ended up half paralized due to being in a car crash with their mother. The crash happened very suddenly in the middle of the day and it was caused by another driver who was too distracted texting. My friend’s brother, who was only seven years old, was hit straight on by the other car causing him to be in a coma for weeks while his mother was so badly injured she couldn’t even talk. This accident caused my friends’ family to lose a lot and they had to face a long recovery that is still continuing today. Her little brother will never be able to run or play a sport without his wheelchair again. It’s tragedies like this one that should really make people be aware of how they drive and strive to do better in protecting themselves and others especially.

Hearing about this story makes me want to become a better driver myself and explain to others the importance of doing so. It really doesn’t take much to be a better driver, you just have to be willing to pay attention to the road and be smart with choosing decisions. For now on I plan to put away all of my distractions and stick to listening to the radio. I will also be more cautious while riding with others and keep my eyes on the road at all times because anything can happen in a split second. Doing this will help ensure the safety of my friends and I. Practicing an increase of safe driving can easily be passed on to my family and friends and they can spread the word even more. If we all work together and spread the importance of safe driving, we can make the roads a much safer place.