One Foot Apart

Distracted driving kills. This is a harsh statement, but it is wholeheartedly the truth. I have seen multiple occurrences of drivers not paying attention resulting in a car accident. One specific example I remember was when I was driving to get coffee. It was a beautiful summer day in June: the sun was shining, clear skies, and a slight breeze. I was almost at the coffee shop, Caribou, when a car swerved right into my lane. In doing so, I have to slam on my breaks in order to stop my car from being hit. I was one foot from getting into a car accident. One foot! That is all it could have taken for me to be rushed to the hospital and have me fighting for my life to stay alive. The driver was on the phone and did not even realize that they almost side swiped me. Thoughts of what could have happened if I was not paying attention flooded into my head. What if they would have hit me? Would I have been hurt? Would my family get a call that their daughter got into an accident? I remember the scariest thing was that while driving there I did not even imagine the possibility that I may get into an accident. This mundane task of driving to go get coffee changed into a heart stopping moment. Is looking at that important text worth it? In my opinion, no. A distracted driver is not only a danger to others, but also a danger to themselves. By this driver not paying attention it could have resulted in them getting hurt or even killed. Additionally, if I would have been hit their insurance would mostly likely have to pay for the damages they caused to myself and my car. After this experience, I realized how important it is to be a defensive driver. By changing my mindset to always assuming that other drivers may be a danger on the road, I started being more conscious of my own actions. For example, if a car and I stop at the same time at the four way stop and I have the right away I will usually look to make sure the driver is looking at me.  This tells me that they know I have the right away and can proceed into the intersection. Also, I usually wait until I see their car fully stopped before going into an intersection. This is due to people using a rolling stop instead of a complete stop. This extra step has saved me from quite a few accidents. You may be wondering, why does this matter? Until the moment above I did not really think about constantly being aware of other people's mistakes while driving. I had the assumption that most people tried to be aware of surrounding cars. I realized now that is not the case. Instead an individual should be more aware of other people on the road. This awareness can build into a natural routine, meaning you unconsciously develop a habit. For example, when I change lanes I always check my blind stops along with my mirrors. I developed this habit because I was taught this in my drivers education class and continued to do this even after passing the class. This brings me to my final point of preventing accidents on the road. If your school or community has a drivers education class, sign up and attend it. This class goes over in depth on how to be a defensive driver and the rules of the road. There is also a ton of research backing that if you take a drivers education class you are less likely to get into an accident. Additionally, drivers education class makes your legal guardian ride with you for a certain number of hours. I found this to be very beneficial. While having my parents in the car, I was able to ask questions and receive constructive feedback from them. By taking this class you become more confident in your driving ability and recognize how to appropriately respond in difficult driving situations. Overall, every driver should be aware of the risks that come with driving. The more you practice driving the more comfortable you will become behind the wheel, but do not make the mistake of thinking you're an amazing driver. This may cause you to let your guard down causing you not to analyze other people as much while driving. I leave you with this statement: be aware, be defensive, and be safe.