Name: Jennifer Uddenberg
From: Elmhurst , Illinois
Votes: 0
Driving
never used to be this common, at one point there were more horses in
the street than cars. Back then, there was still the possibility of
getting distracted. Driving is a task that requires high amounts of
concentration, but with smartphones and smarter cars, the distraction
level increased tremendously. It’s really important to be a safe
driver when behind the wheel because there are more lives at stake
than just your own; it would be terrible to be responsible for
causing an accident with friends or family. Even though preventing
other drivers from being distracted is out of your control, there are
things that are in your control to become a better driver. Something
I do when I get in my car to drive is always put my phone on “Do
Not Disturb” so my phone lighting up won’t take my attention away
from the road. When driving with friends and they get a text, you
could offer to answer the text for them so they can focus their
attention on the road and not send a message, but no message is that
important. A lot of the time, crazy drivers are not the safest
because they are in a rush, so to prevent this from happening, I
always make sure there is more than enough time to get to my
destination, which means adding time according to traffic; no one is
ever penalized for being early. This will also prevent weaving in
between lanes to avoid the cars that are moving slower. Before you
get in the car, know how to get to your destination so there aren’t
last minute directions missed because the turn is in the opposite
lane. Even though I use Siri and Google Maps for my directions, when
I’m driving by myself, I look at the route that I’m taking so I
have an idea of all the turns I need to take. When I’m with other
people in the car, I have them tell me the next direction right after
the previous step is completed. This next one is not always the
easiest to do but try to predict other drivers’ behavior on the
road. I heard this tip from my brother and if you can anticipate a
driver’s action, that could possibly prevent fatal collisions.
Learning others’ driving behavior is hard to do, but over time,
spotting the different kinds of drivers on the road becomes easier to
do. And the most important tip that I have received over my years of
driving is to never drive when you’re tired. Many accidents are
caused by drivers who fall asleep at the wheel, which is fatal to not
only you, but also to others on the road. If you’re feeling tired
while driving, pull off to the side and call a friend or family
member because trying to make it home before falling asleep is not
worth the risk: your life is too important.
