Life or Death

When most teens turn 16 they have one thing in mind. Driving. You get to go off campus, take your friend’s places, and leave the house easier. I mean who wouldn’t want to do those things? It’s a huge thing. It’s that first lick of adulthood that every kid craves for some reason. The problem is, within all of that excitement, people forget about the immense danger and responsibility that comes with getting your license and having access to a vehicle. There are many things that need to be taken into consideration when putting yourself in charge of a motor vehicle. And it’s not just teens, it’s adults that have been driving for years too. Car safety isn’t a subject to take lightly.

When you decide to drive a car, you’ve decided to put yourself in a situation where your decisions could mean life or death for multiple people, including yourself. You need to think of these things, even more so when you have someone in the said car with you. My father has a terrible habit of being on his phone and driving at the same time. Every time I confront him he says things like, “I’ve been driving for years” or “Trust me I know what I’m doing” when in reality he really doesn’t. He constantly almost drives off the road and misses when the light turns green. He says he wouldn’t let anything happen to me but to be honest my life always feels a bit in jeopardy every time I’m in the car with him. A lot of people are under the misconception that just because they’ve been driving for a while, they can easily do lots of other things at the same time which just isn’t true. You can make someone close to you feel really uncomfortable by choosing to drive irresponsibly. Driving is all about paying attention. One split second of losing your focus could easily cause a life-threatening situation.

My mother was recently in a car accident. The other driver tried to get over and did so without realizing she was there. He didn’t put into practice some of the steps we just went over and talked about. It really shook my mother up. Something as simple as not paying attention on the road can really impact the other party.

Another reason for serious injuries or death caused by driving is the simple ignorance of road laws. Those who have a lack of driver’s education are huge threats on the road. Because without road knowledge, there’s no way for you to do things correctly. There are lots of signs that you can’t just figure out based on the picture. It may seem like common sense but it’s really easy to make a mistake about something when you’re not sure about it. You should never guess what a sign means while actively driving on the road. You need to understand how the road works and the road laws to make sure you keep others and yourself safe.

With everything in mind, some steps to keep you and your loved one safe and reduce the number of deaths due to driving include studying, putting distractions away, keeping your eyes on the road, and making wise plus ethical decisions. Before you get your permit you have to take a test. Don’t wing it. Because if you wing it and somehow pass. You don’t have the proper materials to start your driving experience. And when you don’t have the proper materials you tend to make mistakes that can lead to something a lot more serious. So please study.

Put your distractions away. The number one reason for most accidents is distracted driving. Namely, texting and driving. We’ve all seen commercials on texting and driving. Texting and driving is also something that schools stress throughout the school years. And it’s so important that you listen. No matter how good you think you are, you cannot divide your attention when driving. There are too many factors that go into driving correctly, you can’t and shouldn’t add anything else to that. This also ties into our other step of keeping your eyes on the road. If you have distractions, you can’t keep your eyes on the road. You need to keep your eyes on the road at all times. You can’t see potential dangers if you don’t. All of these are examples of the last step, making wise and ethical decisions. Share these with your loved ones to keep them safer too. Because if you’re safe you’ll keep the next person safe.