Don’t be crazy, drive safely!

Imagine the following: you are driving home from school on the country road, it’s about a 20 minute drive, you’re listening to your favorite song and all of the sudden you get a text from your best friend, you reach for the phone and try to text her back. While texting your best friend back you hear a loud honk, it’s a car. You are just in time to move your car back to the right side. You stop your car and breathe heavily, thinking to yourself how close that was. Who knows what would’ve happened if you hit the car. Severe injuries for the both of you or just for one of you? Maybe even fatalities?

More than 38,000 people die annually in crashes on U.S. roadways. An additional 4.4 million are seriously injured and require medical attention. Most of these fatalities or injuries are caused by the carelessness of other drivers. Texting while driving, not paying attention, driving under influence or simply distracting the driver as a passenger are reasons for an average of 6 million car crashes each year. You may think it is stupid while learning it but driver education is in fact important, not only for your own safety but also the safety of those around you. Driver’s education teaches you the consequences of your actions, how driving unsafely is not cool. A study at The University of Nebraska Lincoln has shown that young drivers who have not completed driver’s education are 75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident and 16 percent more likely to have an accident.

Alcohol-impaired crash fatalities account for 28 percent of all crash fatalities. Which is still a low percentage considering the amount of people who sit behind the steering wheel under influence. To solve this problem there will be a need for more patrols or a mandatory alcohol percentage check at the end of a big party. Spreading more awareness would be essential as well. You will always influence a couple of people with the lecture. But mostly, it is important to have your own morals right. If you’re planning on drinking that night make sure you have a designated driver or money to get a uber back home. The issue is, you can’t influence other people’s driving abilities, just your own. On the road the safest person that is driving should be you. Moreover, I also believe that the person riding shotgun should be paying attention as well, since the person who is sitting right next to the driver has the possibility to look around more. Additionally, be sure that you leave home early so you don’t have to speed on the way to your next location. Getting enough rest is one of the most important factors, being drowsy has a big influence on one’s alertness. In addition, follow the road rules and the traffic signs, they are there for a reason. An optional solution to help intersection accidents would be to put more warning signs announcing the upcoming intersection or oncoming traffic lights. Furthermore, I feel like the written drivers test needs to be a little bit harder. I took a written test in The Netherlands and one in Nebraska. The difference between them was that the one in The Netherlands was more difficult and had more different types of questions in comparison to the Nebraska one. There were more insightful questions on what to do in a specific situation. All of these are some small steps but I strongly believe that they can make a big difference.

I myself can luckily say that I have never been in a car accident. However, there were a few times that were close calls. I remember one time that my family and I almost hit another car because my father was not really paying attention. Even though we didn’t hit the other car we all were still shocked by the situation.The near accident led us to the realization of what could have happened if my dad did not see the other car on time. Would it have been a small or a big crash? Nothing wrong, a couple of injuries or even fatalities? There were some other occasions where the other driver was reckless. Not looking, speeding or on purpose accelerating and then suddenly hitting the brake. Luckily, I was paying attention and I had a passenger sitting right next to me who could guide me.

I often see my friends and family drive irresponsibly. I try to tell them to not do it or to offer them to take over the phone if it is needed. My safety lies in their hands but I can do something to have a higher chance of ensuring that safety.

The biggest step you can take in order to drive safely is to stay true to yourself. If you know it is morally wrong, speak up and tell the person why it is wrong. Don’t let anybody influence you in disobeying the rules if you don’t want to. I had a friend of mine who would always tell us that she wasn’t going to speed while driving us because she knew that she had responsibility over us. I feel like being honest is the most important. To become a safer driver yourself is to try to avoid traffic. Take a different route, it may take longer but it would most likely also be safer. Trust your driving skills, you passed the drivers test for a reason, so don’t be afraid to go on the road.

Overall, it is important to take your drivers test and to follow the road rules, since they are there for a reason. A lot of car crashes would be prevented if a lot of people would not drive as reckless as they do. It is important to pay attention, to not drive under influence and to obey the traffic signs. But most importantly, have fun driving whether it is all by yourself or if it is with friends.