According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 1,304,150 car accidents in 2021 in this country for the age group of 16 to 20; 4,986 were fatal. Why? Is it their inexperience behind the wheel? Some may say that that is, in fact, the case. However, when you look at the chart for the year 2021, you can clearly see that that is not the case. The group that had the highest fatalities in the same year were people from the ages of 25 to 34, with 13,200; total accidents 2,449,104.
So, what can be done to lower the amount of car accidents in any age group, not just my own? In the following, I’m going to share some tips and steps to help me, as well as you, the reader, to take to lower your chances of getting into a car accident.
First, let’s start with the obvious, DON’T text. If you must answer a text while driving, pull over into a parking lot, or if you know it’s going to be a quick answer, wait until you come to a complete stop to answer the text. Most cars these days have Bluetooth with voice commend, just simply activate that feature and answer the text. Some phones also have a feature that will automatically answer a text with a message saying that you are driving and will answer them as soon as it is safe to do so.
There are other distractions that people do while driving, like eating. This one is a no-brainer as well. Wait until you get home to eat the meal you picked up or eat at the place you ordered the food. If it’s a situation where you are traveling with other people, have a person who is not eating drive or, again, just simply finish eating before getting on the road.
Be prepared before putting the car into drive is another helpful tip. Get your playlist on your phone ready. As mentioned above, if your phone has that feature that answers texts for you as well, make sure that’s set up. If you are traveling alone, make sure you have everything you need properly placed so you can reach for it safely while driving. Like, for example, if you’re drinking water, make sure it’s in a container with a straw that you can easily reach for, sip and place it back into the cupholder. If you have no choice but to eat while driving, make sure everything is laid out so you can reach and eat everything while keeping your eyes on the road. If something falls to the floor or spills, simply pull over to take care of it or pick up whatever you dropped. Yes, it will be inconvenient to do that, safety is the first priority, for yourself, as well as the other drivers on the road.
I, unfortunately, was a part of that statistic I mentioned at the beginning of this essay. Back in 2021, I was a very new driver, and I was responsible for getting me and my sisters to school every morning. My parents told me several times not to touch my phone for any reason. They even went as far as to not call or text me while I was driving until I got a little experience under my belt. Well, my sisters and I were on the way to school, and I didn’t like the song that popped up on my playlist and wanted to change it. I just looked down for just a second and I ended up running into the back of the SUV in front of me. It happened so fast. Once second, the light turned green and we were going, the next second, the car in front of the SUV stopped and because I was looking down at my phone, I didn’t see it stop, so I ran into it. Luckily, no one was hurt. We were only going maybe 10 miles an hour, if that, but it was fast enough to cause damage to the front end of my car and cause some minor damage to the SUV I hit.
Some steps I could have taken to prevent the accident was make sure I liked all the songs on my playlist, or I could have asked my sister to change the song for me instead of doing it myself, or I could have waited until we were at a complete stop to look at my phone, or just sat there and just listened to the song.
Car accidents can be prevented with a little preparation and lots of patience.