Gratitude Drives Lives

 

Deaths caused by vehicle accidents on American roadways have become just another part of life. Most do not mourn the life of someone lost to an accident unless they have some personal connection with them. It is not surprising when there is a fatal crash on the news because it happens all the time. Society as a whole has become numb to the dangers of driving. Most of these crashes are caused by a lack of attention or care for safe driving habits. It is not the possession of good driving techniques that makes a safe driver. It is the actual willingness to stay alert, for the sake of yourself and those around you, that saves lives. Being a careful driver saves lives and being a careless driver takes them. This life or death tradeoff boils down to one word: Gratitude. 

Life should be driven by an individual's gratefulness. It should help people accept every situation wherever they are and whatever they are doing because simply being alive is an opportunity. Simply being grateful in any circumstance and taking advantage of opportunities that you are gifted with leads to a more grateful mindset and a fuller life. I believe this mindset of gratitude should be applied to driving as well. It is easy to say that a person was just a “bad driver”, but statements like that do not get down to the bottom of the problem. The root cause of most deaths that occur on roadways is a lack of gratitude whether that is for one’s own life, someone else’s life, or maybe even just the privilege that it is to operate a vehicle. If someone is driving at 100 miles per hour down a crowded highway they are simply not grateful enough to care about life. If someone is blindly passing they do not possess gratitude for life. Deadly situations that people put themselves in are not just fluke things that have to happen. They happen because that person does not understand the weight of the situation they are in which leads to a lack of gratitude for the lives around them and their own.

The difference between a safe driver and a dangerous driver is usually not based on skill with the wheel. The main distinguisher is the level of care that the driver has. Cell phones, drugs, and alcohol increase the likelihood of a crash drastically. That is why, especially in today’s age, it is so important to be grateful enough to not indulge in such things in a way that can hinder driving ability. Drivers need to understand that they are operating a lethal weapon, and, if they fail to safely operate it, lives will be lost. An understanding of this is extremely vital, and it could very well alter and save lives. A careful driver who is grateful for the opportunity to be on the road will cause much less danger than someone who does not appreciate being able to drive.

Obviously pushing for gratitude will not eliminate all the risks of driving, and it is definitely easier said than done. There will still be some people that make decisions that put themselves and others in danger, but there is a lot that could be done, even by the government, in order to ensure safer drivers on the road. Understandably, there is a point where driver’s education has to end and allow people to get better at driving with their licence. However, a more extended period of learning or harder test targets could lead to much safer roadways. There is definitely a balance, and I do not have all the answers, but I do believe something should be done in order to better safety expectations on the road. It is easy to solve surface level problems, but there is a need to solve the overarching issue in this instance. Safe driving could be classified as one of the biggest problems in our country. Something so important should have very high priority.

Gratitude should be a part of every aspect of life, and driving is no exception. Life is an opportunity which people are very blessed to experience. In an instant, the life of a doctor, caregiver, volunteer, mother, or father can be taken away by someone who they never even knew. Driving should be approached with the weight that a person carries with their hands on the wheel in mind. Being a safe driver literally saves lives. Simply being grateful to drive takes tallies off of the tens of thousands of fatal crashes that occur every year.