Focus On The Road

Focus
on the Road

All
teenagers are ecstatic when they are allowed to drive on their own.
They all feel a sense of pride; some say more responsible, cooler, or
even grown up. And as adults, a lot of them will of course think and
say that they are above average when it comes to driving, but it
takes a tremendous amount of effort, practice, and responsibility to
be a law-abiding driver. Everyone who wishes to earn their permit or
drivers license, must read a handbook about all the rules of the
road; you can search for the handbooks online, or be given one by
your local DMV. Among these rules, there are many, the most
important, are no drinking and driving, or drugs while driving, or
texting. The Driver License Manual states that any consumption of
alcohol that will impair your vision, is a crime. First conviction,
the period of your license being suspended is no more than 30 days,
but a second conviction will suspend your license for about 6 months.
The same is with the use of drugs while driving; a driver must have
complete control and awareness while on the road, and the consumption
of alcohol or drugs will impair you which will reduce your reflexes,
physical control over your vehicle and the ability to recognize
dangerous situations. This does not just apply to the use of drugs
either. To distractions from people and phones, to uncontrollable
emotions, or not caring for the rules, can put you in serious harm’s
way by putting yourself in a situation which can lead to injuries or
worse. Death. Knowing the rules from a Driver License Manual will
greatly help you to be a safe, defensive, and responsible driver.

The
steps are shown in the first paragraph above, but further knowledge
of more steps are needed. Emotion is a wonderful gift that we humans
get to experience every day, but if it is unchecked while driving, it
can lead to an accident. Everyone is familiar with the term “road
rage,” but what exactly is road rage? It’s quite simple to
understand really. It is an aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by
the driver which can lead to altercations, assaults, and collisions
that can result in serious injuries or possibly death. Or when you
feel tremendously sad or depressed, you have trouble focusing on the
road and what’s going on, because you too focused on feeling blue.
To be a responsible driver, you must toss your feelings aside, remain
calm, not get so worked up, in order to protect yourself or others.
Clear your mind and take deep breaths to stay focused so that you may
not put yourself, any passengers, or drivers in an accident. For
careless drivers, you yourself must not succumb to the same
irresponsibility. Those drivers are people who drive incredibly over
the speed limit, deciding last minute decision to change lanes and
jump on and off the freeways, or run red lights, or turn into someone
else’s lane while completely ignoring the other driver. By not
becoming this careless, you will make the road a safer place.

When
it comes to carelessness, I have seen it in my own family. My uncle,
my mother’s brother, was very careless and irresponsible. He had
terrible road rage, drove over the speed limit, paid little attention
to everyone else on the road, and tossed the rules aside. My uncle,
one day, was driving on his way to work. He made a last minute
decision to jump on the freeway, thankfully though he did not cause
an accident but many others were unhappy about his decision as he cut
in front of everyone. While stopping abruptly, due to morning
traffic, his papers flew off his seat and onto the floor. He decided
to grab them as soon as they fell, but traffic was moving and
becoming lighter, so he drove on while he tried reaching for his
papers. Because there was still traffic, the speed limit was still
low, but my uncle accelerated too fast and caused an accident on the
freeway. Thankfully though, there was no death, the family he had hit
was safe, and he was safe too, but he completely ruined his car. My
uncle, of course, was fined, had his license suspended, and needed
help with everyday life activities due to his injuries. In that time,
my uncle had time to reflect and really think about his irresponsible
and life threatening behaviour as a driver. He received his license,
bought a new car, and completely changed the way he once drove. He
never wanted to be in an accident again, so he changed and is a
defensive and better driver than ever before.

With
the steps I have shown you, and the story I decided to share, I too
will apply these same steps to my life as I beg of you to do the
same. A vehicle is just as dangerous as a gun or any other weapon and
must be cared for with caution; this is why we have manuals, police,
and laws to protect us from these dangerous situations. I am
sometimes a little too aggressive when it comes to the road, and I am
working on how to be more defensive and more responsible instead of
being cocky. I do not wish anyone to experience what my uncle did,
and I sure as well do not want to too.