Keep Calm and Buckle Up

All it takes is a few steps to prevent a tragic death from occurring, yet many people neglect to conduct them. Over 34,000 Americans die each year from these kinds of deaths. Why would anyone not want to prevent a loved one or yourself from this? The answer is that they do not think it could ever happen to them. That is what they all say until it does.

Driver’s education is critical for numerous reasons. The basis is to ensure that each driver has the training and understanding of the risks and consequences of driving and how they may better avoid them. When I walked into my first driver’s education, our instructor told us one important statement: A car is a killing machine. At first, our class disregarded his statement. We have been told about the risks of driving and knew the statistics, but we did not fully grasp what he meant. It was not until we saw the videos of the crashes and saw the hearts of the victim’s families crushing that we understood. We learned about how deadly cars can be. When you are 15 years old, it is not the driving part that excites you, it is the freedom and independence. All you want is to feel grown-up. The videos forced us to face the realities of driving. Operating a car is a serious responsibility. If you do not recognize this, you should never be in the driver’s seat.

Various simple steps can reduce the risk of driving-related deaths. Firstly, obeying the traffic laws. This means no drinking and driving. “Every day, about 28 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 52 minutes. In 2019, these deaths reached the lowest percentage since 1982 when NHTSA started reporting alcohol data — but still, 10,142 people lost their lives. These deaths were all preventable” (NHTSA). This also includes no running a red light or stop signs. I am sure you have seen some drivers do this. It is careless and reckless. Personally, it has deterred some of my friends and classmates from walking by busy streets. The second easy step is to be predictable. It is beyond beneficial to use your turn signals. Some people think it is “uncool” to use a turn signal because they feel like they are driving like a grandma. It is cool to be safe and make smart decisions, not to make moronic actions. The final major step is to ensure you are fully prepared. This includes buckling your seatbelt and adjusting your mirrors. Buckling your seatbelt keeps you situated and in proper placement while driving. In the event of an accident, it drastically lowers your risk of injury or death. If you decide not to, it could lead to you catapulting into a rapidly opening airbag. “Not only can the airbag can seriously injure you, it can kill you. Second and third generation airbags, even though, they have been de-powered from the mid 1990’s, still deploy outward at 300 mph. A deploying airbag has the explosive equivalent of 20 shotgun shells” (The Tracy Law Firm). Mirror adjustments protect drivers from dangerous blind spots. Someone cannot drive, let alone cross lanes or make turns, without using mirrors. You cannot look everywhere at once. Mirrors help to keep your vehicle from the paths of approaching traffic.

I have been fortunate enough to have never been in a car accident or have seen my friends or family drive irresponsibly. However, I did lose a loved one to it. I have never had a guy friend before, mostly because I could never connect with any of them growing up. I was always mature for my age, and preteen boys are not the most mature. In middle school, I became close. Despite our small school size, no one knew we were as close as we were. We always looked out for each other and talked every day. Ironically, we never shared a class and lived only a block from each other. We were so similar that we would make the effort to be best friends. It was in the middle of July when it happened. I remember I was out with friends and something made me think of him, so I tried to FaceTime him. I assumed he was busy because he did not pick up. I found out he was hit by a car one block away from his house that day. It was on a windy, busy street. Often, cars would speed up, despite the traffic signs. The perpetrator was a woman, far too old to be driving, drunk, and had mental health issues. A few months before, we discovered this was not her first driving accident with this result. It did not make sense to anyone. For many of us, this was our first experience with death. Growing up, you know that people live for some time and die. You are told it will probably be one of your grandparents or an older person your parents knew. You never expect it to be your friend. He was just a kid. He was the best person many of us had ever known, even now.

I implore all readers, drivers, and people to understand the power you hold while driving. All it takes is a few easy steps and a clear head to be a safe driver. I ask that you be cognizant of your actions and make smart decisions. Even if it means taking the extra minute to ensure your mirrors are positioned correctly or paying for an Uber or Lyft to take you home safely. I hope you will never experience these types of deaths. The fact that they are extremely preventable is the hardest to overcome. Now please, drive safely.

Works Cited

“Drunk Driving.” NHTSA, https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.