Driving is very important in our day to day life in this current century. Since there are millions of drivers everywhere and millions of people driving everyday, we have to be mindful of the multiple dangers that come along with driving. I think it is very important to help educate people of the deaths and injuries related to operating vehicles, in hopes that it will help reduce the number of accidents on the roads and increase the awareness of drivers. I think we should inform everyone including non-drivers about how we can decrease the risks of accidents if we decrease our distractions on the road.
The number one cause of car accidents on the road are distractions. Taking your eyes off the road even for a few seconds can be deadly because anything can happen with the quickness of those few seconds looking off the road, either its to look at a text message on your phone or looking at the person sitting in the backseat, is very dangerous.The ping of our phone or the missed call message can sometimes be very tempting to open it while driving at times but we have to learn how to live without looking at your phone. Another distraction can be the passengers sitting in the seat next to you or in the backseat because it is noisy and chaotic and very distracting.
Sometimes our friend in the back seat wants to show us a funny photo they found but it is best to not turn around and wait until you're in a safe enough spot to do so. Is quickly checking your phone at a red light acceptable? I feel like this question is controversial because there are people who strongly believe one side or the other. In my opinion I feel like it is too risky to check your phone during a red light because you might get too distracted to notice the light turning green or a drunk driver about to hit you head on. But sometimes I also feel if its a quick notification check then that's somewhat fine but if it is straight up texting at a red light then I think it's unacceptable.
Steps you can take to help prevent the increasing numbers of deaths is to be focused and attentive while on the road. You should check your phone for text messages and calls and inform people that are texting you, that you are about to drive somewhere and that you don't want to get distracted while on the road, before turning on your car. Before I get into the car I make sure that my phone is on, do not disturb and that I have plenty of sleep so I can concentrate as well. For those who like to go to bars and drink with friends. I think it will be a very smart choice if you had a sober friend to take you home or call yourself an uber/taxi. Water will not make you safe enough to drive after drinking alcohol, only time can make you sober! Another step to prevent any deaths on the road is to avoid using any kind of drugs, including sleeping pills and ibuprofen.
I have not been in a car accident before and I do not plan to be in one any time. I have seen my family members driving irresponsible and sometimes I tell them that driving like that is unsafe but they choose not to listen or the just brush off as “oh it's fine, I'm an experienced driver”. When my mom drives sometimes I get anxiety because she is always on her phone and always leaves very little distance between her and other cars. My dad would get on his phone and text while driving and I would get major anxiety from that as well.
Some steps that I can take to become a responsible driver is to, like stated earlier, is to set my phone to do not disturb before turning on the car and making sure that I am getting plenty of sleep since I drive in the early mornings everyday. A step that I can do that I have not mentioned is that I need to remind myself to stop daydreaming while driving because sometimes I tend to catch myself staring off into space and being on ‘autopilot’. I like to stay a good distance away from other cars and I plan on teaching others that having a safe distance to other cars is very important.