Stay Awake for Safety’s Sake

Many years ago, my mom was on a camping trip in Maine with her family. The trip was coming to a close, and the night before she and her family were going to leave, they ended up staying up quite late. The next day, they were driving home on Route 95. My mom, her brother, her niece, and their dog were all driving together, while her parents took another car. Her parents were a distance behind them. My mom and her niece fell asleep while my uncle was driving. He too was very tired and fell asleep behind the wheel. The car veered off the road and flipped over. Their dog, somehow unharmed, jumped out the window. By some miracle, no one was hurt in the accident, but it is things like this that make driving very dangerous.

This true story encourages me to be a safer driver. By looking at my family’s mistakes I can learn how to improve my driving skills and prevent putting myself and other’s lives in danger. It is a miracle nobody was hurt. My family members or other’s could have been seriously injured or killed by this accident, which so easily could have been prevented had they taken proper care not to drive while tired.

Distracted or impaired drivers can make the road a dangerous place. They put not only themselves but everyone on the road in danger. People either don’t realize or don’t care about the dangers of driving with any type of impairment. Some of the best ways to make our society safer are just educating drivers. We need to make sure that Driver’s Ed is in use, that everyone learns how to drive properly and safely. Another way is to make sure the people drive carefully, watching out for themselves and others. People should not be taking needless risks on the road. If everyone focuses on driving more carefully then the roads will be much better to drive on. If everyone focuses on themselves rather than other people’s driving we’ll all improve, and there will be less car accidents that end up killing people. It seems that the problem is that everyone thinks that it is other people’s jobs to drive safely. However, it is all of our responsibility to drive with prudence.

The public must be educated for all of this to work. They must learn the dangers of reckless driving, which includes texting and driving, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving while overly tired or experiencing any strong emotions. Any of these things could lead to car accidents. The general public must know that it starts with them. It starts with each and every person. We must be in complete control while driving. All of our faculties must be functional. If we drive while impaired it puts everyone at risk. People must learn that driving while distracted poses a huge threat. Thousands upon thousands of people die every year from car accidents. Not all of these deaths could be prevented, some car accidents truly are out of our control. The vast majority are due to reckless or distracted drivers, and so many lives could be saved if the public is properly educated.

I know that through my example of following the rules of the road and doing all I can to be a better and safer driver will influence others. Through my example, I can show my friends and family the importance of being a safe driver and of following all the rules of the road. Raising my own awareness of the dangers will help me to be a better driver. It will help me to prevent accidents in my own driving. If I know the dangers of driving impared I can take the steps to avoid it.

We can always learn more about safe driving. We can always be taking steps to do the things that will make the road a safer place. Deaths can be reduced if everyone watches out for themselves and takes it upon themselves to constantly better their driving.

We must be aware of the dangers of driving. Each and every person must take it upon themselves to be a better and safer driver. Through all these steps, less people will be killed in such horrible ways. If we all start taking the steps to do this the roads will be a safer place for everyone. We will be able to drive knowing that it is truly less likely to be in a car accident.