Powers
2


Cole
Powers
1
August 2019

Safe
Travles
Blaring
horns, squealing tires, crunching metal are quickly ensued by sirens,
shock and remorse. A fatal crash is something to be avoided at all
costs and safe driving practices are the best way to circumvent the
heartbreaking reality of deadly drives. Whether the steps to be a
safe driver look like ignoring the phone instead of the speed limit,
or using signals and keeping better distance between cars, every
individual has a driving skill to improve upon. Educating the next
generation on how to handle driving is arguably the supreme position
in education because lives are at stake every time the teacher’s
students put into practice what they have been taught. To keep the
roads safe, drivers must be well educated about how technology and
outside factors effect driving.
Technological
advances have affected the driving experience in numerous ways both
positively and negatively. For example, technology in airbags and
seatbelts are positive steps to reduce driving related deaths.
Lane-departure warnings, along with other numerous devices within
vehicles are helpful technologies that keep drivers aware of their
surroundings. Technology has saved the lives of many that have
experienced a severe car accident, but phones have become incredibly
deadly and robbed many teenagers of their future. Texting and driving
is a serious problem in today’s culture because of the astonishing
acceptance and participation of the behavior. Distracted driving
causes many fatal incidents especially among the youngest drivers.
The way to reduce fatalities is to advocate for the use of safety
features in vehicles and educate about distracted driving by
enforcing serious penalties for the offense. Technology has caused
far too many distracted drivers to crash into a premature fate, this
generation must become safe and educated drivers. If drivers were
less distracted while piloting a vehicle, the horrific death
statistics would begin to lower.
Additionally,
the multitude of stimuli that pound the cockpit of a car can easily
become a fatal distraction. Driving while angry or directly following
an intense emotion can be as unsafe as driving under the influence of
drugs or alcohol. Rowdy passengers and loud music are other examples
of distractions within the confines of a vehicle. Personally, I was
involved in an accident where a major crash had just occurred on the
other side of the highway, distracting the driver and causing her to
rear-end the car ahead of our vehicle. To make the roads safer,
passengers must learn to not distract the driver and encourage them
to keep their entire attention on the road. I see people drive
irresponsibly every day. It seems almost half the time a car surges
and swerves past my vehicle the driver has their phone in their
hands. Drivers Ed must be taken seriously and continue to stress the
importance of how to handle distractions and situations on the road.
The truth is that it is far better to be educated about the risks of
driving instead of learning from an incident where lives are at
stake.