The Speed at Which Death Hits

Drivers Ed
Essay

Death is
something inevitable to us all. Yet, to some extent, we are able to
control how long we get to live before this happens. And in some
cases, we are able to control how long other people get, before their
time comes.

One of these
cases, so important and relevant to most of us, is driving. Whether
we’ve passed our test or not, driving is something that we all
experience in our everyday life: as a passenger, as a pedestrian, or
as a chauffeur for others; we’re surrounded.

Being such a
prevalent part of human life means there can be detrimental
consequences if something goes wrong; people can be physically and
emotionally hurt and scarred from incidences where driving wasn’t
taken seriously or conducted safely.

It is so
important that education on safe driving is delivered; not only to
those learning but to those who have been driving for years, and even
to passengers. There are over 1 million deaths due to road crashes
every year – this averages to over 3,000 deaths per day (WHO,
2018). In such a case where we do have control over the inevitability
of death, it should be taken more seriously.

I
believe that the most important factor in reducing the number of
traffic accidents and related deaths/injuries is to educate people.
“Education is a powerful agent of change. It improves health,
livelihoods and contributes to social stability” (GPE, 2020). By
raising awareness of and enforcing laws related to driving, this can
help to promote safer driving. Further, I believe that drivers should
be tested every five years to ensure their road safety and driving
standards are up to date.

Unfortunately,
for some people, the consequences of reckless driving are only
considered after witnessing or experiencing something of the sort.
This shouldn’t be the case. I know from my own experiences, all it
takes is one distraction to cause an almost-accident on the road: one
bite of a sandwich, one ‘bing’ of a text message – and at what
cost? Luckily for me, I have never had an accident, but after an
almost-accident or two, it occurred to me that it isn’t just my
life that would be put at risk. Without 100% concentration and
commitment to implement safe driving, I could cause extremely harmful
consequences to many others, not just myself.

Upon
reflection, I now abide by selfless rules of the road – no food, no
phones, no loud music; just concentrate, be aware and stay alert. I
tell myself, think of those around you; your ‘out-of-control’
driving should not control the outcome of someone else’s life. Even
though death may be inevitable, the speed at which is hits someone,
isn’t.

By educating people and raising
awareness on how to keep safe, and the costs of not doing so, there
can be universal change in the reduction of traffic accidents and
their consequences.

References

World Health
Organisation (WHO). (2018). Global status report on road safety.
Retrieved from:
www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2018/en/

Global
Partnership for Education (GPE). (2020). Benefits of education.
Retrieved from:
https://www.globalpartnership.org/benefits-of-education