The importance and tools to encourage safe driving

THE IMPORTANCE AND TOOLS TO ENCOURAGE SAFE DRIVING AMONG YOUNG DRIVERS.

Road accidents have become a phenomenal in this country and I have been hearing and reading with mounting despair various articles and news which continue to be published on television and on newspapers on these mind-boggling accidents that result in incalculable loss of lives and properties.

In spite of the scary nature of these accidents, it is always straightforward to identify their causes. In the first place, the driver is perhaps the major cause of most road accidents. Drivers play a vital role in road safety.

There are several ways young drivers can act responsibly when driving.

Foremost, is by wearing seat belts. Seat belts are the simplest defence against impaired, aggressive, and distracted drivers. Death sometimes results from hitting the windshield, being thrown from your vehicle and banging against vehicle parts and passengers. Being buckled up during a crash helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle; being completely ejected from a vehicle is nearly always deadly.

Avoid distraction. The number one explanation for automobile accidents is distracted driving. The main distraction is that phone that everybody is hooked in to. The entire objective is to keep yourself and your passengers safe on the road. Drivers who are distracted and fail to focus their full attention on the road are the leading explanation for most crashes, per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They injure themselves, their passengers and other drivers. Distractions take a motorist’s attention off driving, which can make a driver miss critical events, objects, and cue or abandon control of a vehicle, all potentially leading to a crash. Distracted drivers put not only themselves in danger, but everyone else using the road.

Young drivers should be discouraged from drunk driving as it may endanger their lives and others. Drunk driving increases your risk of being in an accident. After drinking, you will notice that your vision is blurred or that you’re unable to regulate your eye movement. Impaired vision can affect how you judge the space between your car, and other vehicles on the road. Safe driving requires the power to concentrate, observe judgments and quickly react to situations.

Also, plan your route and take enough rest. Before you start a drive, plan your route. Know where you are going ahead of time. Use Google Maps to check traffic activity, weather and road conditions of your route. For longer trips, include a rest stop every two hours; stop as soon you feel tired. You can use google map, Roadside America, etc. Have real-time updates that help you avoid traffic jams, construction, and more.

Most importantly obeying traffic sign make you responsible, traffic signs provide valuable information to drivers and other road users. They represent rules that are in place to keep you safe, and help to speak messages to drivers and pedestrians which will maintain order and reduce accidents. Neglecting them can be dangerous. Therefore, it is the duty of everyone to obey traffic signs and rules as it will save you money, and it may save a life. Tickets for disobeying signs can be pricey, and they can be easily avoided. Following speed limits and stop signs does not only make roads safer, but also keep you from breaking the law.

The most obvious reason for driving carefully is for safety. It is important to drive safely because it can save your life, help avoid hefty fines or imprisonment for traffic violations and keep your insurance premiums lower. In some states, an individual who incurs too many drinking violations are often pilloried with a different-coloured vehicle plate (for example, yellow in Ohio).

What then can be done to ensure safe driving among young drivers?

Certainly, when there is a will, there is a way and all hands must be on deck to ensure safe driving.

In the first place, the time is ripe for refresher courses to be conducted for young drivers to prepare their minds to observe roads signs and signals as well as make them courteous towards passengers.

So far as over-speeding is concerned, it is necessary to establish speed limits to restrain the natural tendency of impatient drivers to reach their destination. It is equally expedient for our traffic officials to ensure that dangerous and reckless young drivers are stripped off their licenses.

In addition, traffic officials should see to it that drivers are properly and duly tested before they are given licenses. Sanctions and punitive measures should also be imposed on all drivers who flout traffic regulations and shy away from the practice of servicing their vehicles regularly. In this vein, there must be constant police patrols on the highways, and in towns to arrest and prosecute careless drivers.

As prudent as it is to censure recalcitrant and reckless drivers, every effort should be made to commend the rather careful drivers who do not experience accidents for a considerable length of time. For goodness’ sake, night driving should be discouraged among young drivers. Young drivers should also be encouraged to maintain their vehicles good performance. Regular check-up will ensure a proper maintenance of the vehicle. Attention should be given to the brakes to ensure they are working before setting out as this will safeguard any misfortunes or accidents.

In a nut shell, accepting responsibility for our decisions is an important part of becoming an adult. Willingness to do so demonstrates maturity and trustworthiness. When you drive, you want to confirm you are willing to simply accept responsibility for all of your driving decisions. Other drivers cannot cause you to behave in a way or another; your reactions to their behaviour are within your control. You must discipline yourself to place safety first regardless of what the other driver does. Promoting safe driving is a collective responsibility that should not be left in the hands of the law enforcement agency alone.

Driving is a risk we take every day therefore drivers got to be alert and attentive when driving.