Horror Prevention

Seeing any type of flashing lights on the highway is never a welcomed sight. Your heart drops because you can never know if the people involved are okay or if the individuals are someone you know. Stopping is not an option in most circumstances and the use of a phone is illegal and can cause you to run the risk of causing the next accident. There are ways to help prevent the situations that cause these feelings though. The more people of all ages are informed and kept up to date with the most recent data and laws the more people can make educated decisions while behind the wheel or even in the passenger seat. With each informed person the chances of errors occurring behind the wheel go down. Even if it is just the passenger who is the one informed, they can help the vehicle’s driver know how to react to an abnormal situation and spread safety awareness.

Aside from an individual keeping up with new information on their own, it is also very important to spread awareness. Social media is huge with the younger generations, so making announcements on different social platforms is a great way to get information out to the public, especially new drivers. The older generations still watch tv and could learn through their friends and family. Whether the information being shared is up to date statistics, new laws, or warnings about current dangers out on the road it is always best to stay informed.

Another tactic to help with road safety would be the development of a system similar to the amber and weather alerts but made specifically for the roads. We already get alerts if the road conditions are bad so why not inform people when there are dangerous drivers or situations out on the road? Truck drivers are able to use their radios to stay connected and alert. If a warning goes out over that system only truck drivers would know what to expect. It is imperative to implement a solution for all drivers to know if there is a reckless driver on the road. If such a system was implemented, people would be able to make more informed decisions on how they can avoid and/or deal with the incident should they drive by it.

Although I nor anyone I know have been in a wreck I have multiple experiences coming across reckless drivers. One occasion was when I came close to being sideswiped after another vehicle, going ten miles over the speed limit, drove too far onto the white line. Another close call that I witnessed happened when my mom was behind the wheel. At a three-way intersection, the two lanes of opposing traffic had stop signs; the lane we were in had the right way and no stop signs. Someone in the oncoming and opposing traffic ran their stop sign when my mom was about to turn. Had my mother’s defensive driving not kicked in we would have been t-boned and thrown into the other lane of opposing traffic causing a multi-car collision. Fortunately, no collision occurred due to my mom maneuvering out of the way. The lesson of that day was to always be aware of your surroundings because not everyone around you is aware of theirs.

After having those experiences, seeing multiple aftermaths of collisions coming into school, and knowing how many kids in my school have gotten into crashes I take extra precautions to make sure nothing I do could result in an accident. Whenever I merge or switch lanes, I check more times than suggested to make sure for certain that no one is coming and that I have the correct clearance to merge. Anytime I do anything that is considered turning or merging I make sure that my signals are activated accordingly. At dusk, dawn, and any hard to see conditions I make sure to have my lights on even if no one else does to make sure I am easily visible to those around me, and it allows me to see my surroundings better as well. Although my friends are annoyed by it, sometimes I can become a backseat driver. If I am unsure whether or not my friends noticed a certain road behavior of another driver, then I make sure to point it out as a precaution. All the precautions I take can easily be implemented into other drivers’ day to day life; there are many ways and steps that can be taken to help ourselves and our community to become a safer environment for everyone, so we do not have to be worried that the person whose crash we just passed was someone we know.