Prevent Losing Lives Behind the Wheel

I remember my first experience being in a car accident. I had just finished a usual day at school and I was ready to go home. I was coming out of the parking lot of my high school heading to a stop sign. There was a bit of traffic over at the stop sign which is no surprise. While I was waiting at the stop sign, I saw a car approaching quickly from behind and it looked like they were about to rear-end my car since they hit the brakes late. The first time, they managed to avoid rear-ending me. Once I moved forward a bit to keep up with the flow of traffic, I felt an impact from behind. The same person that almost rear-ended me the first time hit me the second time. Even though it was a small impact, it still did some damage to the car which had to be paid for. The accident and the damages made to the car made me a little upset as the car was relatively new. The driver admitted to being distracted and on their phone which does explain why they almost hit me the first time and ended up hitting me the second time.

I didn’t really let the accident get to my head because it happens on a daily basis and there are people that experience accidents worse than I had. But, it is hard to believe what would have happened if the driver hit me the first time, especially at the speed they were going. The impact and the damages could have been way worse. Any of us could have sustained injuries which frightens me to this day. Even though I didn’t seem too stressed about the situation, my dad was more upset about it especially since the car is under his name and he purchased the car. It didn’t make it any better when I tried to explain to my dad that the driver that rear-ended me was a student at the high school I attended and had just recently obtained his license. But, it does make a lot of sense why my dad was frustrated at the situation. It is no exception that even though the driver had recently obtained his license, you always have to pay attention while driving. But it really has me thinking, is our generation and the next generation of drivers receiving the correct driving education needed for them to actually care?

Today, teenagers are required to take a driver’s education course before obtaining a permit. A permit allows someone the ability to drive as long as they are accompanied by an adult with a license. I have known some people in the past who have driven with just a permit and no adult accompanying them. A couple of ways I am aware of that you can take a driver’s education course include at school or online. Personally, I took my course online just to get through it and I made sure to take it as seriously as possible. I have known some people at my school who took a driver’s education course at school and didn’t take it seriously. They still obtained their certificate for completing the course to take the permit test which just sounds ridiculous. The information being provided in the course is to help you once you start driving and people need to start taking it seriously.

There are many ways to help reduce the number of deaths related to driving but I am going to try to list some of the most important. The first one is to have a solid driving education. As I mentioned before, it is possible that our generation is not taking driving education seriously which could be the reason why there are more accidents among teens. We need to start taking driving education more seriously. Secondly, get a good night’s sleep. Most accidents happen because the driver behind the wheel might be driving with fatigue. If you are one of those people that are driving with fatigue, don’t drive at all if you are feeling tired or pull over somewhere safe to get a good rest if needed. Also, don’t drive distracted! Most accidents happen because the person driving is distracted which in most cases it is usually from a cell phone. My advice is just don’t use your phone while driving unless it is for an emergency. Lastly, and it may sound ridiculous, utilize public transportation. After all, you aren’t the one driving through all that traffic anymore and it is a more environmentally friendly way to get around.

I understand that it is hard to be perfect while driving and lots of people make mistakes behind the wheel that lead to accidents. But, I still believe that lives can be saved if we just pay attention while we are driving and everyone driving has the proper driving education needed so they are aware of what they are getting themselves into. Driving will remain dangerous if we don’t bring awareness to these problems. Ultimately, we as drivers are making choices as to whether or not we want to save a life by the ways we drive. Will you make the right choice, the choice is yours.