Steering Towards Safety

A person’s life can last a lifetime, but a yet a car can end it in an instance. In a world where driving automobiles is essential, the danger of driving becomes increasingly prominent as younger drivers take control of the wheel. Although most states mandate new drivers to complete driver education courses, there appear to be loopholes that allow individuals to bypass the learning content; Thus, becoming a major problem when the young individuals start driving on the road, as they will not have that prior knowledge to depend on. Driver Education is important because it teaches individuals the proper techniques and rules of the road in order to remain driving in a safe manner, and the safer you are on the road, the safer you are from becoming a news story.

Some of the most important steps you can take in order to reduce the number of deaths related to driving include planning ahead, defensive driving, and vehicle safety. When planning ahead, you should know where you’re going and know how long it will take you to get there, leaving at least fifteen minutes before the allotted time to allow for traffic and unforeseen circumstances. Many people will rush to get to an appointment on time or look down at their phone for a split second to see where maps are taking them, then suddenly – BAM! – they’ve caused an accident and by chance may have ended someone’s life. The loss of another human being, someone’s child, someone’s friend, snatches away any chance for closure, leaving a void that can never be filled. Preparation can serve as a defense against this tragedy, safeguarding against its occurrence in our lives. The next essential step is defensive driving, which is the act of anticipating and avoiding potential dangers on the road. Rather than just relying on reacting to others, this uses an approach that involves maintaining awareness of your surroundings, staying alert, and identifying potential dangers in your area. Checking mirrors frequently, scanning the road ahead and being prepared to act quickly – which are taught within many driver education courses – are all considered defensive driving and can save you if something goes wrong. The last step that I believe to be important is Vehicle Safety, this may not stop you from causing an accident, but it will stop you from causing death due to one. Knowing your vehicle before you drive it is essential to knowing what to do in an emergency, most of this information can be found in the owner’s manual or online. A personal experience of this saving me is when I was driving along the backroads behind my house, in my car, when a giant buck walks out in the middle of the road in front of me. I didn’t have enough time to come to a complete stop, nor enough time to try and avoid the buck, so I did the best next option and pulled my emergency breaks, which I knew was conveniently placed next to my right side on the consol. I managed to stop just before hitting the dear with minimal damage to my car, but I look back on this experience and think to myself, “How badly would that have gone if I didn’t know where the emergency break was?” and because of that, I’m grateful for both my driver’s education and owner’s manual. On another topic of vehicle safety, one of the most important tools in a car, which a lot of people tend to ignore, is the seatbelt. The seatbelt is there to protect you, its there to break the inertia from an accident, without it you would literally go flying out the windshield of the car. I know most people justify it as “Oh that wouldn’t happen to me” but what if it did happen to you? You would regret not wearing it, but you can’t change the past, so help protect yourself in the present so you can thrive in the future.

As a personal experience, I have never been in a car accident myself, but I remember the day my mom and brother got into one. I was in middle school; it was after school, and the choir was having a little end of the year party. My mom had just dropped me off and left with my brother driving her. I sat in the choir room as the second movie of the night started to play when the teacher called out someone’s parent was here. I didn’t think my mom would be back so soon, so I didn’t worry at first, but as my mom’s best friend walked into the room with a sorrow face and a rushed tone, I began to worry. Why was she here? Where was my mom? It was soon after I learned that my mom and brother had been in a bad accident pulling out of a road near the school. They were T-boned in the side by a young driver with suspended license, and all I can remember is driving past the totaled family car as we drove to the hospital. Both my mom and brother suspended minor injuries but overall were in stable condition, but I still remember how scary it was to witness it. It’s scary, the thought of losing someone, the thought that life can be taken away in mere seconds, I never want anyone to experience a scare like that. Recently, I got my own license, I was so scared when I first started driving, I put it off for months, but I reminded myself that driving can be safe, and the fear eventually melted away.

Talking about these steps and experiences can help make the roads safer for everyone, not only will they understand the consequences of what could happen but also can help start the cognitive process when dealing with lightning-fast decisions on the road. Advocating and inspiring other with your own story may tug on the heart strings and open their eyes to the dangers of what they might be doing. As well as doing your part to be safe on the road because no matter how much you try and change someone’s behavior, some people are just stubborn, and refuse to change how they think about certain situations. Let’s work together to prevent more lives from being lost on our roads! Together, as a whole, we can act today and prevent another tragic loss tomorrow.