Safe and educated driving is definitely a must in this current technological age. There are so many things that are within reach or easily available that can cause distracted driving that results in numerous forms of accidents from simple fender-benders to full on death of drivers or passengers. Knowing the statistics, seeing the evidence, and being presented with potential benefits of safe driving may help decrease the amount of distracted driving incidents in our country.
There are numerous insurance companies that have programs that drivers can sign up for discounts and other rewards when they are safe drivers. For example, an app tracks how you drive and weather you are using your phone during the drive. The safer of a driver you are, the more of a discount you get on your insurance, going up to 20% off. Having programs like that not only provides a safer way of driving, but it gives numerous incentives for drivers of all ages to be more wary of their driving habits. Another option we should do as a country is required drivers education classes. For anyone who is preparing to get their drivers license, you should have a required minimum of hours for driving courses. This is a great way to refresh or introduce necessary information to future drivers on the road rules and give information on what is considered distracted driving. There should also be information on how there are alternatives to unsafe driving practices, including touchless calls/text and using other driving programs like Uber and Lyft. There are a lot of people who may not know about these other options.
I have never been involved in an accident, but my sister has had some fender bender and a larger accident that fortunately had no major injuries. This was a mix of distracted driving on her part, and not paying proper attention on the other drivers side of things. This caused a lot of difficulties in getting insurance to cooperate so that she could get a new vehicle, making sure her medical bills were taking care of since she had to get checked out for whiplash, and losing the time and pay from work while she was figuring out her transportation. This is something that could have definitely been avoided if both drivers had proper knowledge and information on responsible driving habits.
Do I think that all accidents would be gone if everyone had the knowledge needed for responsible driving? No, I don’t. Humans are not infallible and will always have moments of distraction or moments of idiocy. That is just our nature. But I do believe that we can help decrease the amount of accidents with this education. I believe that the more informed a person is, the better prepared they are for whatever life may throw at them.
As for me, I do my best to keep the phone put away, the music at a tolerable level, and my children safely bucked in. I want the least amount of distractions while I am driving because I typically have my four boys with me, and if something were to happen to them, I would be beside myself. Their safety in our vehicle trumps any and all distractions that may tempt me to look away from the road. My goal each and every time we get in our vehicle is to make sure we all arrive healthy and safely to our destination, no matter how far away or short the trip is. My husband and I plan on teaching our boys the proper way to drive safely and will make sure they are aware of the dangers that distracted driving brings. They will know the proper road rules and will fully understand how to operate their vehicle before they are placed in a driving situation that would affect them and others. They will also go to drivers education courses to create an even more thorough education that will increase their road safety. My husband drives frequently for his job. He is aware of all the dangers of distracted driving and is very knowledgeable about driving rules. His biggest responsibility is getting to and from work safely so that he can make it home to his family. He drives often in the middle of the night, where drivers can be tired, which makes them either fall asleep at the wheel, or crank up something that distracts them from feeling tired. That can make things dangerous. So he is very focused when he is driving at night.
Overall, safe driving practices are key to decreasing accidents that could potentially be avoidable. The amount of lives that could be saved would be unbelievable.