You Only Get One Life - Why Risk It?

Getting behind the wheel has become an unavoidable part of my day from the moment I got my license. Between taking my sister and friends to school and driving an hour to softball practice three times a week, I now spend the majority of my time in cars as the driver. On one of my recent drives to practice, I began scrolling through my Spotify because I wasn’t happy with the music I was listening to. It felt harmless while I was doing it, but when I looked up, I realized just how far I’d gone while essentially driving blind. Luckily, the light I was approaching was still firmly green, there weren’t many cars on the road near me, and there weren’t any pedestrians. But as I kept going, I kept thinking about those six seconds of distraction. If the light had changed or someone ended up in my car’s path, my reaction would have been slow and something bad could have happened. I realized I lucked into the best possible situation for what I’d been doing, but it doesn’t always turn out that way.

I believe this is a big part of why driver education is so important in reducing driving-related deaths and injuries. You never know exactly what car accidents are like until you’ve seen them up close. It’s easy to say “I had it under control” or “It all turned out fine, so there was nothing to worry about” until the unthinkable finally happens. Driver education makes it a point to discuss the consequences of unsafe driving. It also teaches people the extra steps to drive safely and actively avoid dangerous situations. It teaches you how to drive defensively around pedestrians and other vehicles and understand the rules of the road. All of these things take driving from just operating the car to being a safe and successful driver. 

As I mentioned, I am definitely guilty of driving irresponsibly - mainly glancing at my phone and not being 100% focused. I’ve also seen my friends do this thousands of times in the way teenagers do, where it’s goofy and harmless. But eventually, it comes back to haunt them. I’ve heard countless stories from my friends and classmates of getting in crashes for trivial, completely avoidable reasons, and my car even got rear-ended while my mom and sister used it to run errands. Only the car was hurt, but the perpetrator was in fact a teenage boy who wasn’t paying enough attention as he came up over a hill and tried slowing down too late. I was so stressed about whether they were okay, but everyone involved was lucky and there was only minor car damage.

To become a better and safer driver myself, reducing distraction is the most important step. About a week after my distracted-driving epiphany, I came across a scholarship where I would pledge to stay off my phone while driving for 30 days straight, and once I completed the streak, I could fill out the rest of the scholarship application. I learned about it at the perfect time and I really made a conscious effort to stick to it. Every time I thought about reaching for my phone, I remembered that pledge and how I felt after driving blind. Those 30 days have since ended but I’m still sticking to that goal of never looking away from the road. I’ve called out friends and family for being on their phones while driving and I act as the designated phone handler when I’m the passenger. I also need to be careful about my speed and be aware of those around me. That includes spacing myself properly between cars (not following too closely) and always scanning the road for potential hazards. It’s very easy for me to go on autopilot, especially on routes I constantly drive, but that opens the door to surprises and slow reactions.

Aside from reducing distractions, one of the biggest ways to avoid driving-related deaths is setting personal boundaries behind the wheel. You have to understand the consequences of dangerous behavior and decide what you will and won’t do while driving. For example, it’s very easy to start speeding, either to keep up with traffic or if you’re in a rush. If you end up in trouble, the best-case scenario is you get pulled over. The worst is you put yourself in danger going too fast and can’t react fast enough. It’s also easy to be influenced by others in the car if they encourage you to do something risky. Never get behind the wheel impaired, as that’s a recipe for disaster and rarely ends up a happy ending. Even fully sober, it’s important to know your limits as a driver and what your car can do. You never want to put anyone in danger for a little approval from your friends. It’s high risk and low reward, and you’re better off making sure everyone gets home safe. The last important thing is just wearing a seatbelt! Its whole purpose is to keep you safe, yet nearly 50% of all driving-related deaths include the occupants not wearing seatbelts.

There’s around 6 million police-reported car crashes, 2.3 million crash-related injuries, and 34,000 resulting deaths per year in the United States. Every time you’re on the road, you run the risk of a crash. It goes with the territory. However, you can take precautions to avoid accidents. I’ve finally realized that some of my behavior is a little too risky to keep doing, so I’ve started taking steps to keep myself and my passengers safer. Driving is an unavoidable part of modern-day life, but it’s always unpredictable. By continuing driver education and encouraging safe behavior, hopefully we can keep people safer on the road so that no one else becomes a statistic.