Name: Jameel Muhammad
From: Glassboro , New Jersey
Votes: 0
Stop!
Before You Go
Seatbelts
on, adjust your mirrors, grip your hands 9 and 3, and go. We go and
go to whatever destination, many with the assumption that getting to
that destination is as simple as the act of putting your foot on the
gas. No, its not that simple, driving requires your complete
undivided attention mentally, emotionally, and physically. You can’t
just go with your seatbelt not on, you can’t just go with your
phone in hand taking phone calls and texting, you can’t just go if
you’ve had too much to drink, and you can’t just go if you’re
not ready physically or mentally because there’s a chance you could
get seriously injured or die. An average of 34,000 persons die every
year because they weren’t ready to go, its time to educate people
on why putting your foot on the gas is so much more then about
getting to your next destination.
New
drivers are the most vulnerable to being involved in fatal car
crashes, ages 16-18 to be specific. The primary way we can combat
this is to educate young drivers. Those that are educated by having
in class instructions and going through driving school are 4.3% less
likely to be involved in crashes. Teens having drivers ed makes
them more comfortable driving, helps them know how to react to
certain situations, and makes them better drivers compared to those
who have never received a drivers ed. Therefore, having a
drivers ed is extremely important for reducing the number
of deaths on the road.
Despite
the amount of drivers ed there is, one thing is still overly
distracting drivers. The culprit is cellphones, they are the bane of
existence to drivers. Cellphones ring and ding and make all sorts of
noises that trigger our brain to want to look at them 24/7. Even when
they’re not making noises, many still have this need to want to
interact with and engage with the world, so they pick up their phone.
Many of my family members engage in this activity recklessly all the
time. They engage with their phones and come so close to other cars,
almost miss lights, take reckless turns, and or make aggressive
abrupt stops all because they weren’t paying attention. Cellphone
usage while driving must stop for us to be able to be safer drivers
and reduce the number of fatalities caused by driving.
The
first step is to put the cellphones away, the second step is to keep
educating drivers, and the third step is to speak up if you know
something is wrong. Whenever I see my family on their phone, I remind
them that we are not invincible, that cars and our lives are not
toys, and so to put down their phones, so that we can have more days
to get to new destinations. Everything I preach I follow, for you
must lead by example, because I know we always must always be ready
to go.
