Name: Noah Arroyo
From: Boston, Massachusetts
Votes: 0
In
the United States, car accidents have become a normal occurrence.
Since 2000, over a million people have died in the U.S. due to some
type of motor vehicle accident. “What caused this?” ”How can we
stop this?” are some questions asked many times while in the topic
of vehicular safety. One of the main causes of accidents include
distracted, drunk, or reckless driving. Weather conditions are also a
big factor while talking about accidents. What can we do to bring the
yearly average of fiftytwo thousand deaths down?
The
leading cause of accidents in the U.S is accredited to distracted
driving. This can go anywhere from texting while behind the wheel to
even talking. As absurd as this seems, distracted driving occurs when
anything diverts your attention from the road. Don’t be mistaken,
some people are able to multitask and talk while driving, but others
have a hard time focusing on the road and processing what they are
saying or being told. That said, the first thing we could do to lower
the vehicle related death rate is to get rid of distraction, so
focusing on the road and surroundings would be made a lot easier for
the driver. When buying food, some examples of getting rid of
distractions include waiting to stop or arrive to your destination to
eat food. Other examples such as applying makeup before driving may
sound simple, but many drivers ignore the simple task and risk their
lives by doing said action while driving.
Drinking
and driving is another leading cause of accidents in the United
States. During Drivers ed, the teacher explained that driving
while your drunk would affect your ability to process information.
The classic ‘drunk goggles’ brought made the last statement a
whole lot dangerous because it took what I normally saw and made
everything around me feel like it was at a further distance away from
me. Imagine trying to make rational decisions while driving under
that type of influence. When a person drinks at any place, they
should have either a designated driver, or a person who makes sure
that you do not have access to any vehicle with whomever is drinking.
Distracted, driving, and other things such as speeding, and
aggressive driving culminate to create reckless driving, another
major source of accidents.
Accidents
due to nature are out of human control, but there are certain things
we can do to adjust to what cards are dealt to us. For starters, it
is advised to change your tires when it balds too much. If your tire
has less friction with the ground, it would very easily slide if a
driver were to stop on the road after it rains. When it rains, it is
a bad idea to speed especially on the highway because that would lead
to an easy case of hydroplaning. While I was in my last year of high
school, there was a fellow student who got into an accident because
of hydroplaning, His car was totaled and the only reason he survived
was because he had his seatbelt on.
Lastly;
when it comes to driving, it is mandatory to stay aware of everything
that is happening with and around your car. Car accidents occur
because of the slightest mishaps, but they end with terrible results.
When the student mentioned before was in that accident, he said there
was a friend with him in the car and did not have his seatbelt on.
The student said that when he hit the other car, his friend started
to move from his seat due to car stopping so quickly. The only reason
why his friend survived the accident was because the student was able
to react fast enough to hold his friend back. Something seemingly as
annoying as putting on your seatbelt could save your life.
