Your Attention Can Save A Life

As a little girl, there is nothing more that I wanted to do than drive a car. I was over the moon when I was finally able to take my permit test at 15, and then apply to get my restricted license when I was 15 and a half. Getting my restricted license meant that I could drive by myself, and I had been looking forward to this for years. But before I could get that coveted restricted license, I had to take a driving course that was required by my home state. The course included an eight-hour class that covered all the information young drivers needed to know before they took the roads by themselves and six hours of driving with a certified instructor. At 15, this seemed like overkill, but now I see how much that has prepared me for certain situations I’ve encountered while driving.

Driver education shows young drivers the reality of driving a vehicle. Most teens see driving as freedom and don’t take road safety seriously. The reality is that driving a vehicle has taken countless lives and most people aren’t prepared to quickly maneuver themselves out of dangerous situations. When I took my driver’s education course, I was still recovering from a bad cold, so I wasn’t super happy about listening to a lecture for eight hours, but it really did put things into perspective. My instructor showed us what not paying attention could result in and the reality of it was unpleasant. Then, when doing our driving training, my instructor not only taught me how to operate the vehicle and what is and isn’t legal, but how to pay attention to what was going on around me to protect myself as much as possible. If there is anything I’ve learned from driving for a couple of years is that a lot of people aren’t paying attention when they are driving. Distracted driving is one of the deadliest epidemics that our nation is currently facing. No matter what we do, there is always something to occupy our thoughts when we are behind the wheel which leads to people putting themselves and others in hazardous situations.

I’ve luckily only been in the car for one wreck. I was much younger and me and my siblings were staying with our neighbor while my parents attended an event. Our neighbor was taking us to go get food and we had just stopped at a four-way stop. There was no reason to suspect that anything was about to happen. But, as soon as it was our turn to go, we had barely made it through the intersection when our car was suddenly hit. We were all fine and the damage to the car wasn’t too bad, but it all happened because someone was not paying attention and went without checking their blind spot. Checking your blind spot should be driving 101, but our wreck was caused because someone didn’t think to do it. We eventually made it to get some food and our night wasn’t totally ruined, but it sure did put a dent in our plans (and our car).

Some steps that can be taken to reduce the amount of driving related casualties are actually very simple, but it requires that people participate. First, is a quality drivers’ education experience. Just knowing how to properly operate a vehicle and to know how to navigate certain weather conditions, safely maneuvering around an object in the road, and other on-the-fly situations that people might encounter while driving. Secondly, eliminating as many distractions as we can while we are behind the wheel of a vehicle. This means turning our phones off, limiting the number of passengers we allow in the car with us, and not operating the vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Thirdly, it’s learning to pay attention to your vehicle and what it’s doing and what other people’s vehicles are doing. I couldn’t count how many times I have avoided a wreck because I was aware of what people around me were doing. It genuinely has saved my life numerous times.

I like to brag and say that I am an amazing driver, but there are times I make a mistake and times when I’m not paying attention as much as I really should. I need to be better about not even touching my phone while I’m driving as I feel lots of other people should be doing too. Sometimes just looking over to click decline on a phone call is enough time for something to happen and for me to lose control of the vehicle. I believe that we should hold the people driving us around to that standard too. I know it’s a bit uncomfortable at times, but holding people who have our safety in their hands accountable is essential to reducing vehicle related deaths and keeping ourselves safe.

Unfortunately, our society will never be free of unnecessary deaths related to driving, but we can all do our part to minimize that number exponentially. I feel that everyone knows of someone who has lost their life in a car accident. If we don’t do it for them, then who? Do we value our lives and even the lives of others at the price of a single text message? Life is precious, and no one deserves to have theirs cut short because someone decided they weren’t going to pay attention. Let’s do better, not because we want to, but because we have to.