Importance of 10 and 2

Every account of a vehicle incident is related to the fact that the driver was distracted.

It may not have been for the same time or for the same reason each time, but one thing is that no matter what any of them can be a life altering experience. Driving is not just about getting to a certain destination in a short amount of time. This responsibility also comes with skills and habits that must be met to ensure the safety and arrival of those in the vehicle.

Thankfully I have not been in any sort of vehicle accident, but others are not so lucky.

My mom isn’t so lucky on the other hand, she once told me of a time when she was in a bad accident near on her way to work due to a distracted driver on the morning of June 5th, 2013.

From the house to her old job which was about 17 minutes away she was going down the road which was about 1 mile from a sharp turn which was cautioned on both ways so that each driver would be aware. Little did she know that the oncoming Ram truck had a distracted driver going about 50 in a 35 zone just before the turn. Leading into the crash my mom had slowed down being fully alert of the situation and while turning, The distracted driver over took her lane as well before turning quickly out of shock. This sent my mom 12 feet off the road and into the side ditch where she broke her collarbone and right arm from the impact. The truck only had minor damages compared to my moms Nissan Altima which had been impacted from the left and damaged all around from the ditch too. My mom was too hurt to do anything but she had called my grandma who alerted the rest of us about what happened.

She turned out fine after all the hospital aid and she is lucky to still be alive today,

though many others have not had the same blessings that our family had in that time. I feel this goes for anyone who is driving, not just those who have experienced this but driving is a big responsibility that has its rules and regulations for a reason. This is not only to ensure the safety and arrival of those in the vehicle, but also those around your vehicle when on the road.

As stated, I have never been in any sort of crash myself, but that doesn’t mean I’ve

never experienced a distracted driver in the same car as me. I am 19 and that means I still have a lot of time and energy to go out with my friends and live the night young. I do know my limits and listen to warnings from my parents, yet there are times in which I have caught either one of my friends or a nearby driver on their phone while cruising down the speedway. This does not only put the passengers in your car in trouble, but also both cars and every other car going 60 or higher on the highway. One problem that we have currently is that it takes a personal experience of trauma to make people alert when people can just take precaution and not need to go through that at all. I do feel safe when one of my friends is driving, though whenever a small glimpse of a phone is needed I usually just take it as the passenger and say it out loud if it’s a text or do the command myself for anything else needed. I do this so that the driver may remain alert at 10 and 2 the whole journey without risking any lives on the road.

There are many improvements coming out now that can help keep the drivers

attention on the road rather than glued to a cellphone or distracted while eating. Some investments that can be made are carplay systems which include voice commands and some steering wheels come with music control capabilities for the media center if its built in Nissan, VolksWagon, Ford and Chevy are some of the well known brands that include these features. One thing that has been added recently to the roads to help limit the amount of distracted drivers are side bumps that resonate through the car loud and urgently to warn drivers that they are drifting too much to the shoulders which could possibly be implemented on the main lanes to help warn of inner lane drifting. There is always a way to help retain the drivers attention, but no matter what the motive for transport is, Driving is not just about getting to a certain destination in a short amount of time. This responsibility also comes with skills and habits that must be met to ensure the safety and arrival of those in the vehicle.