In the Drivers Seat

Although I haven’t experienced being in a car accident there have been few cases where I have almost been in a car accident. It was the month of December last year, and it was dark outside. I was so excited that college had ended for the year, and I was ready to go home after taking my finals. As I was driving down a two-lane highway going eastbound and there was a car waiting to pull out from a gas station, they were going to turn westbound cars were coming in the opposite direction on the other lane, but something told me to slow down because I had a feeling, they will be pulling out in front of me and sure enough I was right. Even though there were no cars behind me, the car pulled out but instead of going to their lane they turned in front of me and I had to press on the brakes hard and honk my car horn. After that moment my heart was hammering so hard against my chest, I repeatedly replayed what had happened in my mind. I realized that the incident could have been an accident and out of all the accidents I have encountered this one got my blood pumping.

What is the point of sharing this incident with others? To see how one can become a better, safer driver and help others be safe on the road too. Ways to become a better and safer driver are to be aware of your surroundings by determining what the other drivers will do and in other words you want to be nosey. Not texting and driving means always having your hands on the wheel; not looking around to see where your phone is when you hear it go off because in a split second once you take your eyes off the road you could be causing another person’s life or yours. Driving while intoxicated comes with some serious consequences like getting into an accident, and having delayed reactions, and your vision is blurry. Instead of driving while intoxicated, you should have at least one person who is sober to be the designated driver. But driving defensively is a big part of being a good and safer driver because when you are in a situation like the incident, I describe at the beginning of this essay you must anticipate a potentially dangerous situation, be prepared for what might happen, and have a gut feeling a car is going to pull out and decreased your speed. Helping others become safe on the road helps reduce the number of people being killed and less risk of them hurting themselves.

How can we reduce the number of deaths related to driving? We all have busy lives and sometimes we don’t get enough sleep whether it’s school or work or anything that happened in our personal lives. Nevertheless, we need enough sleep to be able to drive because you can’t risk driving while you are tired and about to sleep behind the wheel because you can cause a person’s life and even your own. Speeding plays a factor in driving-related deaths. A way to reduce the number of deaths is to follow the speed limits. I mean speed limit signs are in place for a reason. The faster you drive, the slower your reaction time will be if you need to prevent an auto accident and the longer it will take to stop your car. So, obey the traffic laws and reduce your speed. Weather conditions can play a major role in driving-related deaths. Rain creates slick and dangerous surfaces for cars, trucks, and motorcycles and often causes automobiles to spin out of control or skid across the road while braking. To avoid a car accident, drive extra carefully when it rains. Winter months can be very dangerous. Snow can mix with water and become sloshy, and ice can be difficult to see and prevent. This danger can be escalated since most people do not know the proper protocols. To avoid this from happening make sure to keep your distance from the car in front of you, decrease your speed, go easy on the breaks at stops, and if you do hit ice do not slam on the brakes.

The importance of driver education when reducing the number of driving-related deaths is to increase road safety. When teens do not enroll in driver’s education, they are more likely to violate rules and get a ticket, more likely to be involved in fatal accidents or death, and more likely to get into accidents. some young drivers are over-confident, which can lead to reckless driving.