Education Really Can Save Lives

For me, safe driving
is one of my biggest priorities on the road. In situations where I
know I am going to be late to my destination, I would rather get
there safely and be a few minutes late then drive recklessly and risk
hurting myself and others just to get there on time.

Education is the
first step. If people aren’t aware of the facts behind dangerous
driving, we can’t expect much to change. Statistics can be scary,
and these facts are no different. According to the charts provided,
in 2012, highway fatality numbers were higher than the American
Revolutionary War, with deaths totalling approximately 32,000.
However, this was around 7-8 years ago, so I researched highway
fatalities in 2019. According to wikipedia, the amount of highway
fatalities was 36,560. Looking back at the chart provided, that’s
more deaths than the Korean War. These facts should be shared with
everyone in order to educate them on how fatal reckless driving
really can be, which brings us back full circle to the idea that
education is key. If people are aware of the consequences, there is a
better chance things will change.

Once a family member
of mine was in a car accident, but it was an incredibly minor one and
nobody was hurt, but knowing that they were in an accident scared me,
especially as a young child.

However, I do have
another family member that tends to drive a little more
irresponsibly, and driving with them can sometimes make me nervous.
Luckily, they’ve never been in an accident. Although they can be an
irresponsible driver at times, they somehow know how to be safe, even
when driving like this, as they’ve prevented themselves from being
in several accidents. Clearly, this does not justify this type of
driving in any way, but it’s better than the alternative of getting
in many accidents due to unsafe driving.

Reckless drivers and
drunk drives are still present on the road, and everyone should be
aware of this and stay off of the road during times where there is a
high likelihood that drunk drivers will be on the road.

For me, my biggest
step in creating a safe driving environment for myself is not texting
while driving. Sometimes I break this rule if I have to renavigate
somewhere or talk to siri. In the future, I hope to completely stop
doing these things, because even looking down for a second could be
deadly. I hope to pull over when I need to talk to siri or fix my
navigation so I don;t put myself and others at risk. My goal is for
my actions to influence both my family and friends to be cautious and
responsible while driving, which I hope will make a difference on the
road, even if it’s a small difference.