Name: Lauren King
From: Sandy Springs, GA
Votes: 0
I
got into a car accident about a month ago. It was silly for me to
think that if I held my phone up and occasionally glanced at my GPS
while driving, then I would avoid any sort of problems. Of course, I
was wrong. I was driving distracted and following too close to the
person in front of me. Next thing I knew my bumper and hood were
ruined. Even though it was nothing more than a fender bender, I was
completely terrified and had no idea what to do after it happened.
Living in Atlanta and having an accident on one of the nation’s
deadliest highways, I consider myself lucky to be alive. My parents
came and talked to me, happy that I was safe but disappointed that I
wasn’t actively practicing all of the safe driving techniques they
had tried to instill in me since I was 15. I felt foolish because I
thought that that would never happen to me. “I’m pretty sure I
can text and drive without dying”, I thought. And to be fair, my
mom always texted and drove when she was working or busy to where she
couldn’t pull over so I was convinced that if she’s still alive,
then I would be too.
This
sort of mentality, which I have noticed is common in my generation,
should be avoided. It’s easy to remember the “No Smoking” and
“Don’t Text and Drive” PBAs shown to us in middle and high
school health classes for the curriculum, but there isn’t much of
an emphasis on it as we progress through our teenage years. It seems
as if unless it becomes a common problem or a tragedy like someone
dies or gets seriously injured from a car accident, then it gets
addressed. If it was shown with more frequency then maybe teenagers
would be more aware of the poor driving behaviors they participate
in. It should also be highlighted that there are even simpler ways to
avoid car casualties, such as following the speed limit laws which is
something that is broken often. Speed limits are set in place for a
driver’s safety because the less reaction time you have, the more
abilities are necessary to avoid an accident. As the speed rises, so
do the braking distance and other measures that can produce
catastrophic disasters and rollovers. According to the NHTSA,
speeding was a factor in a third of teenage car fatalities and
accounted for 27% of all traffic fatalities in 2016. Another safe
driving technique could be to drive undistracted. It should be
promoted that people should put their phones on Do Not Disturb,
especially the Do Not Disturb While Driving mode so that there is
less of a motive to look at their phones. Driving while intoxicated
should also be emphasized consistently due to the numerous auto
fatalities caused by people, especially teens, that drive under the
influence.
Plus,
the majority of teenagers are new drivers, meaning that their
skillset is lacking compared to experienced drivers. Driver’s
education is important in these situations as it can improve not only
the confidence of new drivers but also a clear understanding of the
responsibilities and duties they have to uphold as a driver. Driver’s
ed is also important because the lessons learned in the classes are
taught so that students can employ them as they physically learn to
drive. It should also be important that experienced drivers take a
“refresher” class or another road test to ensure that they
are still implementing their prior knowledge in their day-to-day
driving.
With
these techniques, it is possible to create safer drivers on streets,
highways, and interstates. Additionally, I have become a better
driver, mainly due to the fear I felt when I had my accident.
Although it was small, it was my life on the line. As my younger
brothers grow older, I am now more determined to advocate good
driving skills so that they don’t have to get in a serious accident
to understand the importance of driving safe.
