Safe Driving Initiative

Driver education is more important now than ever before. With a rise in the number of deaths and general accidents in years, people need to be reminded why safe driving is such an issue. Without informing the masses of safe driving practices, there is no way to change.

To kickstart this, I propose we push out a short flyer to all major social media outlets. On this flyer we must make it eye-catching, short so it’s easy to read and understand, and informative. This flyer could include such things as ways to avoid an accident, safer driving practices, images depicting what could happen if you drive recklessly, website links for more information, or even a QR code to a video showing the negatives of negligent drivers.

People need to be reminded of safe practices now since it has been proven that during as well as since the COVID-19 lockdown, drivers have become generally more reckless. In an article published by the CNBC, they stated that “An estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021, a 10.5% increase from the 38,824 fatalities in 2020 and the highest rate since 2005, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration….” This helps further the point that people have become far more careless and must be reminded of why we exercise safe driving practices.

Some steps to make you a safer driver are as follows. Make sure all mirrors are in the proper positions before taking off. Check your gas tank before leaving to ensure you won’t scramble later. Clear (mostly) all of the snow off of your vehicle before driving to ensure your back window doesn’t get covered, you can properly see out all windows with minimal to no obstruction, and so you don’t spray the car behind you with snow as you drive. Check your brake fluid, tire pressure, and wiper fluid often. Constantly checking mirrors and scanning for people or vehicles that could prove a problem. Driving with both hands firmly on the wheel. Don’t drink and drive, or drive before alcohol is out of your system. Many other steps can be taken, but this is just a starter list of the easiest to check with a glance or minimal effort.

I have personally never been present for a car accident, but I know plenty of people who have. Some things I’ve noticed others doing that may lead to an accident are as follows. Hanging arms out a window as they drive, or other limbs as passengers. Rocking the vehicle or swerving around to annoy and frighten the other passengers. Running red lights, or turning on a red when there was only a brief opportunity before a car would have gone through. Opening a door as the vehicle was in motion. And much more, but to keep this section brief I have omitted some.

You should perform regular maintenance on your vehicle or if you lack the knowledge on how to, there are mechanics out there who can do it for you. By maintaining a vehicle you lessen the chance that it will have some sort of mechanical failure that could cause an accident. Most people’s attitudes are that if it’s not broken, then it doesn’t need fixing. This is not a logic that should be applied to vehicles, as that “break” may lead to more than just your car “breaking.” Similar to a factory setting, all vehicles should undergo routine and regular preventative maintenance. While a yearly oil change or inspection is the required amount of preventative maintenance, they do not discourage you from doing further checks on your own between inspections to ensure things are running smoothly.

Another way to make the roads a safer place is by enforcing people to retake either or both the written and road tests. You could have this be after a set amount of time, at certain ages, or a mixture of both. This ensures that those unfit to drive due to age, no longer are. This also ensures that people remain up to date on driving regulations and laws. With an approach like this, it provides people with the most up to date information that way they aren’t driving with information from when they first got their license. This also reminds people of certain aspects they may have forgotten over time, but can easily be reminded of.

We can all help others out by informing them and reminding them of proper practices when driving, and advising them against irresponsible habits to better protect everyone. There are always ways to improve one’s driving, it may just take some reaffirment and persistence.