Name: Jessica Nneji
From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Votes: 0
Jessica
Nneji
DmvEdu
2
November 2019
Lowering
The Death Rates From Driving
Everyday,
we are risking our lives when get in our cars to go from point A to
point B.
Traffic
death have been on the rise in the U.S. for the last few years. The
reason that there is an increase is that we are constantly driving
while others try and blame smartphone-holding pedestrians. Some might
even have a road range in which they lose their self-control. Lastly,
speeding when driving is the major cause of the rise of death in the
U.S.
In
order for us to tackle this rising epidemic of fatal driving, is
realizing speeding is a major factor of it. “Speeding nearly kills
900 Americans every month,”(Consumer). Even though it affects all
ages, crashes, and violations are higher for younger drivers. One of
the reasons people speed while driving is either because they are
distracted by the blasting music in their car or the fact that they
have to be at a certain destination on time. Your life is more
important than where you have to be or what music you are listing to.
“In 2009, over 5,400 people were killed due to distracting driving
and 448,000 were injured,”( Consumer). With such high numbers, the
best thing you can do is put your focus on the road, and turn down
that radio.
Along
with speeding, losing self-control can be a huge factor in many fatal
drivers. Many drivers have serious road range when it comes to people
cutting them off when they’re driving on highways, or not having
the patience for the others on the road. Driving
in traffic, long commutes and aggressive drivers can be frustrating
on the road, but it becomes road rage when stress and frustration
turn into violent anger. “Over a period of seven years, the AAA
Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 218 deaths were linked
directly to road rage, which roughly comes to 30 fatalities a year.
During the same time period, over 12,600 injuries were attributed to
road rage,”(CarSurance).
Road rage can include rude gestures, verbal insults, driving unsafely
on purpose, making threats and even harming someone else in a
confrontation. A way we can turn that around is by paying attention
on the road so there will be no confrontation, pick up the pace when
it comes to highways, and ignoring an aggressive driver that tries to
intimidate drivers. Avoiding road rage is not easy for many, but we
have to think about the consequences of it and that is death. The use
of alcohol while driving is one of the many reasons there is road
rage. “
In
2009, there were 10,839 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities, and
while that number has declined from 2008, there are still many lives
that can be saved if everyone remembers to assign a designated driver
if you’ve been drinking or hand over the keys until you’re
sober,”(Consumer). It is easy to get in a car accident when you’re
drunk and not in the right state of mind. To avoid any accidents, you
should call an uber, a friend, or someone you trust to drive you
safely to your destination. By doing this, you are saving many lives
that could have been taken by reckless drunk driving.
When
it comes to pedestrians on their phone with their air pods/headphones
on, it becomes a bad habit to quickly blame them when there is an
accident at hand. It is important when driving that you slow down
when the light becomes yellow and pay attention to pedestrians when
they’re crossing the road. Although it is their fault for not
looking both ways, drivers will end up being responsible because
pedestrians have the right of way. “Wearing headphones while you
walk in the street can be a deadly distraction. The number of people
killed or seriously injured as a result of not being aware of their
surroundings due to earbuds or headphones has tripled in the past six
years, according to the journal Injury Prevention,”(nydaily).
Nothing else matters but the driver’s safety and the pedestrian’s,
so it is up to the drivers to glue their eyes on the road and not let
any distractions get in the way.
With
that being said, if we come together as a nation to follow the
driving safety rules, we can decrease the deaths in dangerous
driving. Not many people following the rules of the road, so it is
detrimental that we apply those rules to prevent that anxiety of
driving and that fear of getting to accidents with other drivers on
the road. It is not going to be easy now to apply these rules, but it
will be beneficial in the future. It will eventually get easier once
we put the effort into evaluating the rules and what we can do
personally to make the road safe for everyone.
Works
Cited
Goldwert,
Lindsay. “Wearing Headphones While You Walk Is Deadly; Deaths and
Serious Injuries Tripled in Past 6 Years .” Nydailynews.com,
New York Daily News, 10 Jan. 2019,
https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/wearing-headphones-walk-deadly-deaths-serious-injuries-tripled-6-years-article-1.1007438.
Mehta,
Sushant. “29 Road Rage Statistics for Driver’s Safety (2019
Update).” Carsurance,
Sushant Mehta, 27 Oct. 2019,
https://carsurance.net/blog/road-rage-statistics/.
“Simple
Things You Can Do to Drive More Safely.” Product
Reviews and Ratings – Consumer Reports,
Consumer Report News, 21 June 2011,
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2011/06/simple-things-you-can-do-to-drive-more-safely/index.htm.
