In The Blink of an Eye

Brandon C. Boeth

In
The Blink of an Eye

The Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex consistently ranks as one of the
busiest traffic cities in the country. In fact, I had a life-long
resident of our city tell me that “…no matter where you want to
go, it’ll take an hour”. Now while that is probably an
exaggeration, there is an element of truth to it. With the influx of
hundreds-of-thousands of new drivers each year, the problem is only
going to get worse.

Thank goodness
for Drivers ed. As traffic increases, it is incumbent on each
driver to stay alert and pay close attention not only to how they are
driving, but how others around them are driving. One of the key
messages of all Drivers Ed courses in for the driver (and passengers
too) to focus on the road. Momentarily lapses in focus, including
changing the radio station, sipping a drink, eating a snack, texting,
talking on a cell phone, are all cited as potential hazards. Yet
every time I drive, I see people doing these things and paying little
or no attention to the road.

Some aggressive
steps need to be taken to combat this issue. Why? Because since 2000,
more than 67,000 people have died on Texas roadways. So the impact is
not trivial. I believe that new technology needs to be implemented
to force drivers to be attentive. For example, on railroad
locomotives, engineers must press a button or foot pedal each 60-90
seconds or the locomotive will sound an alarm and be slowed. This is
to make sure that the operators don’t snooze of lose focus. Cell
phone use is prohibited by train operators while moving. The same
type of systems and policies should be enforced for automobile and
truck use on the highways. Laws are already on the books in many
states making it illegal to use a handheld phone to talk or text
while driving, but they are very rarely enforced. Sadly, it’s only
after a fatality accident that we learn texting or talking on the
cell phone was a contributing factor. Laws alone are not enough
because people are not disciplined. Instead, automobiles should be
equipped with sensors and technology that will block talking and
texting while a car is in gear once and for all.

I have been in a
car accident, so I am very sensitive to the shock it creates for the
occupants. Our car was rear-ended by a driver while we were sitting
at a stoplight. The driver said he had reached down to pick up
something he dropped and when he looked up, it was too late. Again…a
form of distracted driving. Luckily, there were no serious injuries,
but if the driver was going just a few miles faster, the police said
it could have ruptured the gas tank leading to a fire. Accidents are
going to happen due to weather conditions, blind spots, and many
other reasons. But accidents due to driver inattention are completely
preventable.

Steps I can take
to promote safety on the road, both for myself and others, is to
“practice what I preach”. When riding with friends, I can help
them stay focused by watching the other drivers around our vehicle. I
can also look to make sure it is clear for my friend to change lanes
to make a turn. But even bigger, I can continue to promote safe
driving through social media, texts, posts, and blogs to get the word
out on vehicle safety on the road.

Perhaps with the
combination of Drivers ed, use of technology, accident
prevention, a social awareness, we can all work together to bring
traffic deaths down both today and into the future.

Thank you for
considering my application.