Car accidents are in the top 3 most common causes of death. Most car accidents happen to teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19. That is most likely because they haven’t been enrolled in a driver’s education course. I, personally, was enrolled in a driver’s education class. However, I took mine online. It was a hassle at first, but it was well worth it when I got the temporary permit and then, later on, my license. My driver’s education course taught me so much about driving that even my parents didn’t know. I learned about road signs and four-way stops. I learned that if you get to the stop sign first, you get to go first. If two or more cars get there at the same time, then the car on the right gets to go first. I learned that you are allowed to turn right if a stop light is red, if, and only if, there are no cars coming. However, if there is a “No Turn on Red” sign, you cannot turn on red. If you don’t take a driver’s education class, you may not know that, and you could cause an accident.
To reduce the number of deaths involved in car accidents, there are several steps you can take. The first thing you can, and should, do is to get enrolled in a driver’s education course. As mentioned above, these courses are very informative and very helpful. Another step you can take is to get rid of distractions. If you are distracted while driving, there is a very high chance of swerving and hitting something, or someone. So, make sure your music isn’t too loud and stay off of your phone. Also, try to limit multi-tasking. Don’t eat or drink while driving. Try to wait until you are at a stop light do take a drink or a bite. Without these distractions, you are able to pay more attention to your surroundings.
A few years back, my mom was in a car accident. My brothers and I were at our neighbor’s house. We were running around the back yard when we saw dad on the phone. We got curious so we got a little closer and we could hear a girl on the other side of the phone. We didn’t put two and two together, even when Dad started to get tears. He’s always been an emotional person so I just thought it was somebody from church asking for a prayer request. Then Dad said he would be back and got in the car. Us kids were confused, but we just went back over to our neighbor’s. About 30 minutes later, he came back with Mom. That was when we were really confused. Mom was supposed to be at church because it was Wednesday. We went back home to ask what happened. Dad explained while Mom was sitting on the couch shaking. He said that she was changing her song and slipped on black ice. She flipped over a rail and landed in a creek. She didn’t know what to do while she was laying there, so she began to honk the horn. Eventually, a man came and offered her help. She was able to call dad from his phone since hers got destroyed. She didn’t go to the doctor that night, though. She said she just wanted to come home. She ended up going to the doctor, but nothing too terrible happened. Just a few minor bruises and a concussion. For the next few days, she was pretty shaken up. She would only stop shaking if Dad or myself was next to her. She is doing a lot better now and I am so grateful God was with her.
One of my friends was in a car accident about two weeks ago. She was on her way home from our other friend’s house. She got on her phone to respond to a text and she lost control. She ran into a tree and flipped over a cliff and was rushed to the ICU. She had lacerations to her liver and a split in her kidney. Usually, when I hear about a car accident, I just think, “dang, that’s terrible,” but I don’t really think twice about it. However, when it is someone you care about, it hits a little harder. I cried for about an hour, but had to hide my emotions because I was in class. If she went any further down that hill, she wouldn’t be here anymore.
After having two very close people be involved in car accidents due to distractions, there are definitely several things I do to stay safer. The first thing I try to do is to stay off of my phone. If somebody is calling me, I will answer it, depending on who it is. I have a problem with dancing with driving, which needs to stop. If I continue dancing while driving, I could swerve and hurt myself, or even worse, someone else. One thing I want to do to help others drive safer, is to promote Driver’s Education.