Imagine this, you and your best friend have known each other practically since birth. After 16 years of friendship, your dream has finally come true: you and your best friend have matching sports cars. One late night, you are driving down a back road with not a soul in sight, except for your best friend in front of you. Your friend decides it would be fun to go 20 miles over the speed limit. No harm in that, right? Wrong, speeding like that puts both you and others in danger. Yet, we often believe “I can control my car, nothing bad is going to happen.” But that mentality always seems to come with an accident, and a loss. So I ask you, are you going to join your best friend that you have known your whole life, or are you going to lead by example.
Breaking driving laws behind the wheel is most commonly the result from watching others do the same. My parents and siblings are great drivers, however they are often distracted by their phone, or the music. As a passenger, witnessing my mom on her phone while driving makes me very nervous. However my nerves are calmed by the trust I have for her. To other drivers though, my mom is a stranger, and they might be feeling just as nervous as I am, except with no trust to ease them.
It can be argued that people break driving laws because they do not understand the importance behind it. Every law has a reason, even the law in California that states a woman cannot drive in a housecoat. Driving education not only helps drivers acquire the needed skills to drive, but can also help people gain an understanding of why we do certain things on the road. Driving education is important because it starts an individual with good actions. Those good actions will then turn into good decisions when they are driving on their own. Choosing to make good decisions repetitively will create a good habit. Good habits are hard to create because it is always more difficult to choose the action that requires more steps and more strength. Which is why it is important to make good decisions at first, so that you can create a good habit forever. If everyone on the road used good driving habits, the amount of car crashes and accidents would decrease tremendously.
After seeing family members and close friends drive irresponsibly, I’ve decided to set my own rules for myself behind the wheel. I’ve decided to create a playlist I would always be happy with, and place my phone in the cup holder, or the passenger seat so that I would not be tempted to touch it. Even when there is no one on the road, I still use my blinker. I never know if or when a car is gonna pull out of a driveway, and it is important for them to know that I am making a turn. I always go the speed limit, no matter what, even when cars behind me are getting mad and tailgating me.
Although I drive safely, I cannot expect others to do the same. I have known many people who have lost their life, or a family member, at the expense of another individual's reckless behavior. One day my friend showed up to school in a wheelchair, and I was unaware that she almost died the day before. On a road that I drove on often, there is a blind corner where two roads merge, going 55 miles per hour. One road has a yield, however it is difficult to see a car coming from around a tight corner. When my friend thought it was safe, a man came speeding around the corner, and hit her. Luckily she was able to get away from the car before it burst into flames. We can drive safely in our own cars all we want, however we must do something to encourage others to do the same.
Have you ever been driving on a single lane road, simply going the speed limit, and in the matter of a few minutes, there is a line of cars behind you that was not there before? It is fair to believe those drivers were speeding to catch up to you that quick. However, now they are forced to do the right thing and go the speed limit. There will always be the hard headed individuals who think the rules do not apply to them, however if we re-establish driving expectations, more people will be willing to abide by them. Drivers adapting bad habits from others doing the same can work the opposite way too. The more people are surrounded by others going the speed limit, the more they will be content with doing the same. The best way to reduce the amount of deaths related to motor vehicles is to lead by example. Take good actions and turn them into good habits and encourage others to do the same. Change the social expectation of driving 5 miles over, to driving the speed limit. Always have a designated driver when you go out to a bar. Make it acceptable to tell your best friend no when they are encouraging you to do something unsafe. And begin setting those expectations for new drivers through drivers education.
Nearly 41,000 people died in car accidents in 2023 alone. Distracted driving, unsafe social expectations, and peer pressure have all increased the amount of crashes. Such things create a cloudy judgment, allowing more room for error. Altering those bad actions into good ones will create safer traveling. It starts with a team, a team of people who want roads to be safer. Positive influence spreads the same as negative influence. Let’s start with leading by example.