It is undeniable that most people commute to their day-to-day jobs by the usage of cars, especially Americans, who may have a more difficult time commuting by other methods such as trains compared to Europe. It is quite common for many people to have unsafe driving practices on the road which often lead to many deadly consequences. Although the road is among the most dangerous places to be on Earth, there are a few ways to reduce the risk of injury or deaths of people such as driver’s education and finding good habits to have while on the wheel.
Driving education is extremely important to learn about a lot about driving. For example, when I was 14, I signed up to a website called FLVS or also known as Florida Virtual School which allowed teenagers 14 and above to take a driver’s course to learn about driving. In the course, there were sections that informed the student about what different signs mean and life saving features about a car. This is important because many people may not understand what a sign means and might miss vital information even if they do see the sign, or they may not know of features of a car that can save their life. Signs help raise awareness of what is up ahead in the road, and the information can help save lives. An example would be the slippery road sign. An uninformed driver may see the sign but ignore it because they simply do not know what it means. Their ignorance can cost them their own life because they might speed despite the warning of slippery roads, and stopping the car or braking in time before an accident will be much more difficult since they didn’t heed the given warning sign. In the event of an accident, it is crucial for the person to get help. One way a car can help with receive help is the emergency button, which usually is a red and white triangle that is in the front two seats, middle of the car where the AC vents reside. Without Driver’s education, people may not know of the emergency button and may not receive the help they need when they may be in a serious or life-threatening accident. Not only can a driver’s education help inform people of what different signs or features of a car can mean to a driver, they can also describe good and bad habits that are exhibited on the road.
Good habits can significantly reduce the number of deaths that occur from driving. Some of these habits can include the passengers you choose to drive with, common distractions, the time of day the person chooses to drive at, the geography of where the person is driving at, and the general good safe habits of many drivers.
As a driver, it is important to be focused on the road, even if there are passengers in the car. The passengers should help the Driver stay focused on the road and not distract the driver, since that puts everyone’s life at risk inside the car. Passengers can prevent distractions by staying silent or not doing anything that grabs the attention of the driver, an example of an attention-grabbing behavior is dirtying the Driver’s car. The driver may become irritated and in turn will temporarily distract them from the wheel.
As a driver in current days, it is very common to have many distractions while on the road. One of the biggest distractions that causes many accidents is smart phones. While growing up over the years, my parents and older siblings all had a common habit of fidgeting on their phones while driving on the road. This would always make me anxious because I didn’t want my life at risk due to their unsafe driving behaviors. A safe driver would instead pull over to the side of the road to engage with whatever important business they may have on the phone, or they would wait till they arrive at the designated location before using their phone. To help inform Drivers of their unsafe driving habits, a person can confront the driver about their habits and help correct the habits by pointing out the habit every time it occurs. The usage of statistics and facts may be an accepted argument for reasons to change a bad habit. Another rule of thumb is to obey the law. Certain laws are in place for roads because it is to protect the general public’s safety. An example would be the "Move Over” law in Florida that requires drivers to slow down when they see an emergency vehicle, such as police cars, and try to switch to a further lane from the emergency vehicle. Another good habit is to choose to drive when the visibility of an area is good or when the weather is not harsh. The visibility of an area is bad, especially when it is nighttime. Many areas are not well lit so driving in such places can be very dangerous at night. If nighttime driving is avoidable, try to drive during the day. Another dangerous time to drive is when there are extreme rainstorms which can also blind visibility. Rain also reduces friction on the roads so cars may have a more difficult time braking safely. The situation can be avoided by checking the weather frequently to decide the best time to drive. One generally common safety habit for most drivers when switching lanes is activating their blinker. This may seem like common sense, but many drivers do not use their blinkers. One summer I was in China and the roads are much more dangerous than the United States because there are way more traffic and almost nobody that used their blinker when switching lanes. In the U.S, since people are more educated, most people tend to use their blinker when switching lanes but there are occasional drivers that may not. Not using a blinker when switching lanes can easily cause accidents, especially on a highway where a driver may not see another driver that is right behind them.
In an ideal world, people all over the globe would learn of the dangers of the road and practice general safe habits that do not endanger other people’s lives. Driving education only can improve and increase awareness of the dangers of many unsafe habits. Although it is difficult to achieve, it is possible for a future where most people practice safe habits to protect not only their lives, but drivers all around them as well.