The Importance of Safe Driving

One of the steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is by educating potential and current drivers on how to be safe. Potential drivers need to learn about the dangers of being on the road. Drivers’ education is important so that drivers know how to be safe on the road. Potential and current drivers need to know not to text or be on their phone, messing with the radio and get distracted. They also need not drive while tired or be under the influence of any substances. They need to also know how to properly operate a vehicle, how to read road signs, how to handle being in a situation, and not to panic while driving. If potential and current drivers don’t know or don’t do any of those, then they potentially risk their lives and the lives of those around them. Driving safely is an important and serious thing, so serious that not just drivers and other passengers inside of a vehicle are in danger, but also pedestrians are at risk from dangerous driving.

I have experienced being in a car accident before and it was traumatizing. The story goes that me, my grandparents, and my brother were on a road trip to go visit family in Wisconsin. I don’t remember what state we were in when the accident occurred, but I know it was on the highway, in the middle of the day. I was in the backseat behind the driver’s seat, my grandmother was in the front passenger’s seat, my brother was in the back passenger’s seat, and my grandfather was driving. I was leaning over, with my head touching the back of the driver’s seat, reading on my phone. I was sucked in on the book that I was reading on my phone when suddenly I was jerked forward, and my head was pushed into the back of the driver’s seat. My instinct was to look over to my brother to make sure he was okay, then I was jerked forward again, I saw all the items that was separating me and my brother, fly forward before the side of my face hit the DVD player that was attached to the back of the driver’s seat. After I had hit the DVD player, I automatically asked my brother if he was okay, and he told me that he was. Luckily no one got seriously injured. I just had a red mark on my check from where I hit the DVD player. My brother got a scratch on his forehead because his head hit the DVD player that was on the back of the front passenger’s seat. I was surprised that he wasn’t injured anymore because the screen on the DVD, that was in front of my brother, was completely cracked and broken. Neither of my grandparents got injured, which was a good thing. How the accident occurred, a car randomly decided to hit their brakes which caused the car in front of us to hit their brakes. The first time that I was jerked forward was when my grandfather hit the brakes, and the second time was when our car hit the car in front of us. The car that caused the accident left the scene, so we have no idea why they stopped in the first place. The car that was in front of us didn’t have much damage. Our car on the other hand, the hood got bent so we couldn’t fully close it, we had to put bungee cord on it to keep it closed. The police were called, and they took statements from both the people in the car in front of us and my grandparents. At the end of the day, the car that caused the accident was irresponsible while driving and they were lucky that no one got seriously injured. My adrenaline was shot when that accident happened, and I still get anxiety when I am in a car and the driver gets a little too close to another car.

I have also been in the car when a friend was being irresponsible while driving. There have been times where I have been in the car with a friend, and they started drinking while driving and driving with an open container of alcohol in the car. I always feel uncomfortable getting into the car with them if they are driving. Luckly I am not in the car very often anymore when they drive. And we are lucky that we haven’t been in an accident when they drive, but I don’t like taking the chances with them driving.