A Moment Behind the Wheel Can Shatter Lives

Driving safety is not something that is outgrown or stops being a concern as people have more experience behind the wheel. Many seem to forget a tenant of what is taught in the driver’s education manuals and classes is the fact that one must always drive for the road conditions. This means adjusting speed, following distances, and distractions to account for what is going on outside the car which is beyond the driver’s control. Every driver needs to minimize distractions and drive for the road conditions. Not taking the time to adjust for road and weather conditions can result in consequences far beyond being late for an appointment or a dented fender. From 16, to 90 and beyond, driving safety has to be the top priority every time a person is behind the wheel because one careless moment can change the lives of so many people.

Take for example, the young 16 year old driver, enjoying her first day of summer vacation, driving along some rural back roads. She’s enjoying the morning and getting some time behind the wheel. Because she is on a rural road, she’s not concerned about traffic and traveling too fast for the conditions, so when the four wheeler suddenly appears out of the fog, she has no time to stop or avoid it. The impact while it causes her no physical harm, leaves the rider of the 4 wheeler, a boy roughly her own age brain dead. In that split second, she has changed the lives of a young man, his entire family, and herself. This young woman will never be the person she was before a brief moment in time changed everything for her.

And, there are things worse than death which can await those on the road who ignore the driving conditions. Look at the 43 year old man, already driving for more than 20 years and confident in his ability to handle whatever the weather sends his way. Because of this, he tends to drive speed limit or over regardless of the conditions outside. Running late for work one day, in a thunderstorm which had already been raging for hours, and causing flooding in low lying areas, he was unable to react to the hydroplaning at the bottom of a hill already traveling above the posted speed limit. That moment shot his car off the road, head first into a tree. The accident did not cost him his life exactly, just everything that made him who he was before the impact. Every bone was broken, heart torn, brain and lungs damaged. The man that survived the accident is one no longer able to care for himself, unable to walk, turn himself over, or even communicate what he wants or needs. This alteration of his life is the cost he paid while also leaving his spouse and children without a father. In many ways, his condition created an ongoing cycle of pain and suffering far beyond what death would have been for him and his family.

These two examples are far from the only examples of the cost of not driving for the conditions of the road. Ice, fog, rain, and even the sun being major contributors to some of the worst accidents in American history. Not adjusting for those factors have lead to accidents involving as many as 140 cars and resulting in substantial damages to property along with the loss of human lives. Many of these accidents could have been avoided all together by simply adjusting to the conditions that presented themselves, allowing families to remain in tact and travelers to reach their destinations.

The impact of over confidence on the road or a disregard for the conditions at hand causes thousands of accidents each year on American. These are mostly accidents which could be avoided by making sure people take road and weather conditions into account and don’t just assume they can drive without regards to the changes in the driving environment. These quick, careless moments change lives, futures, and dreams, not just for the drivers but for the families and friends of those who fall victim to the worst of these accidents. Whether it be the first time a person gets behind the wheel or the millionth time, each trip should begin with assessing the conditions of the road and adjusting things like speed, following distance, and in vehicle distractions to help minimize the impact of those conditions. The few minutes of extra drive time and preparation could make the difference in whether someone makes it home again as the same person they were when they left.