Distracted driving is an issue that has continuously gotten worse ever since the creation of the modern smartphone, ipads, or any device that can lead to a user not focusing on the road. I believe that driver education is a key part to helping new drivers and even older drivers to drop the action and learn to drive safer and smarter. A driver educator can help new drivers learn about the dangers of distracted driving and how they affect everyone around them on the road. When I was first introduced to driver's education, I didn’t think too much about distracted driving and looking at social media while driving. But as I got further into the course, my educator continuously kept preaching the dangers of social media and videos while operating a vehicle. Eventually once I finished the course and had to actually take a driving test, I would keep glancing away while driving and not focus on the road the whole time. My educator noticed this and informed me that I needed to fix it and focus just on the road the entire time. She informed me a few times and after that, I never did it again.
Ways that new and experienced drivers can improve their driving skills could be simple decisions like obeying traffic laws, not using phones or eating while driving, never driving under the influence, or wearing a seatbelt. These are just some of the many methods that drivers can follow to easily increase their driving safety and safety of others on the road as well. I believe that drivers that get in trouble with law enforcement for driving under the influence or reckless driving should face much stricter punishments for their actions to set a good example of what can happen to you if you decide to drive in these unsafe situations. It is unnecessary to drive in these fashions and all it does is pose a risk to yourself and others. I think adding more driving awareness programs on road safety and responsible driving could also lead to more people becoming aware of the dangers. These are just a few of the many things we can do to improve this issue and I believe that there are just about an infinite amount of ways we can better ourselves to eliminate this issue and help ourselves and everyone around us driving on the road.
I have never been in a serious car accident in my life except for one time whenever I had a car scratch the back of my car because they turned at the wrong time. My friend however, has been in a serious car accident and it was because of a distracted driver. He was driving to his friends house and he was looking at his phone whenever his mom called him and he started talking to her and at the end of the call he was looking down attempting to hang up the phone and while attempting to hang up he was making a left turn at a yellow light. Because of him not paying attention, a car flew attempting to make the light before it turned red completely t-boned his car and he was seriously injured. My friend was in the hospital for 2 weeks and he went through a course for distracted driving because this was not his first time getting into an accident due to not paying attention. I honestly thought that the accident would claim his life because his vehicle was extremely damaged and he looked awful. But thankfully, he was able to recover and nowadays I never see him on his phone while driving and he’s a much more responsible driver now. Sometimes I believe you need to face some serious challenges and mistakes in life to learn and become better afterwards. I think this was something that my friend needed to face to better himself.
I believe that I can better myself in many ways because I never put my phone in offline mode when I get in the car and I still check notifications every now and then while I’m driving which isn’t safe. I think that if I can eliminate these troubles, I feel that I’m a very safe driver because I understand the risks that come with distracted driving and I never want to endanger myself or others unnecessarily. I can also learn to stop myself from trying to change or pick a certain song while I'm driving which is a distraction and just pick a playlist and let it play whatever. This is an issue I’ve had for a long time but it's something I have gotten better at and I still try to tell myself to stop whenever I catch myself doing it. I believe that no one is perfect and we can strive to better ourselves with driving so we can make the roads safer for everyone who drives on it.