Driving Scholarship

Driving is a big part of today’s society, in fact, it is considered one of the main ways of transportation in the United States. According to the Brookings.edu article in regards to the census in 2016, a total of 76% of America, or approximately 115 million people, commuted by cars, trucks, buses, and other types of vehicles on a daily basis. As of 2023, the estimated number of people driving has more than doubled, reaching 286 million people driving on the roads daily. With that many commuters on the streets, there’s a high probability of mishaps and collisions, along with several factors that can lead to an accident dealing with other drivers. Some of those factors deal with inexperienced drivers, incapable drivers, teen drivers, emergency vehicles, and the elderly. All which can lead to a hazardous collision.

One of the biggest factors that causes accidents in the United States is distracted driving. Distracted driving is when the driver takes their focus off the road. There are many things that can capture a driver’s focus while driving. The most common factor is drivers having their eyes on their cell phones while driving, either checking a notification or a text. Many drivers fall into this category, whether they know it or not.About 3,000 people die in car accidents due to distracted driving (which is about 8 to 9% of people). Other drivers can be seen reaching to grab something from the back seat or trying to eat and drink while driving. Another common type of implication that causes death is drunk driving. Drunk driving is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Being drunk affects your vision, making the road and scenery blurry.. They won’t have good focus, and their reaction time will be vastly reduced. Drunk driving can look like the following: Weaving in and out lanes, (almost) running into objects along the side of the road, tailgating other cars, and/ or displaying an increase or decrease in acceleration or deceleration. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations article, based off of 2021, it describes a 31% record of fatalities in the United States, all dealing with drunk driving. In those incidents, about 13,384 people were killed. Even though those were just two examples, there are still many major factors that can still occur from other situations.

Another factor for some of the major accidents is actually natural disasters. Natural disasters are caused by weather, like tornadoes, hail storms, tsunamis, and even flash floods. Some of the most common car accidents occur from things like rain, ice, fog and even hail. Rain can affect the driver’s vision while driving, depending on how heavy the rainfall is and the quality of their windshield wipers. One good safety measure drivers can do, is to slow down and turn on their hazard lights. Slowing down decreases the chances of you losing control of your car, and turning on your hazard lights helps drivers in front and behind you to have a visual reference on where your car is. Another good safety measure drivers can do if you can’t see or struggle driving in harsh weather conditions is to stop under an underpass to wait out the rain. An alternate idea is taking an exit and parking in a restaurant or a food joint parking lot to wait out the rain. Ice is another problem when it comes to driving. Ice tends to freeze on the roads and makes controlling your vehicle more difficult. A good way to make sure you are staying protected is to keep both hands on the steering wheel, drive slower, and stay focused while driving. You can easily lose control of your vehicle if you become distracted. Those same methods and procedures can be used while driving in the fog. That being driving slowly and staying focused since your vision is altered due to the thickness of the fog. You can even turn on your high beams or hazard lights to help other drivers identify where you are. Unlike fog or ice, hail is similar to rain. Hail is ice raining down from the sky. Hail can be as little as a pea, but can also get up to the size of a baseball. When driving in hailstorms, you should drive slowly and use your windshield wipers. Depending on if the storm is bad or not, you could pull under an underpass or even take an exit and sit in a parking lot. When the rain, hail storm, fog or ice has cleared, you will be available to go back driving safely on the road.

Driving is no easy feat, especially when it comes to your own safety and others. There are a couple of steps you can take to insure you’ll be traveling on the open roads without having to worry about your well being. Your first step can be to make sure your vehicle is functioning properly. Checking small things like your gas tank, oil light and even the air pressure in tires can decrease the chances of your vehicle malfunctioning and causing a possible accident.The second step is making sure you have no distractions that could take your focus away from driving. Silencing or even putting your phone away, putting any belongings you may have in the passenger seat or back seat to help prevent anything from rolling under your pedals, and waiting to eat your food or drink your beverages can instantly decrease the chances of you losing your focus. Finally, the last step you can take is using things like your signals and checking your mirrors. Maintaining an awareness of your surroundings can play a big factor into being a safe driver and can help you prevent further accidents in the future.