The Importance of Aware Driving

In today’s society, we are all very busy and commute to many places. From work to school to the playground and back driving has become an essential part of our everyday lives. It is the most common form of transportation with individuals learning to drive starting around 14 to 15 years old. With so many people on the road, it is critical that everyone is aware of their surroundings as well as the other vehicles on the road for their own personal safety as well as the safety of others. There are many deaths that occudrivr as a result of driving. It is important that each individual is educated before operating a vehicle.

It is critical that each individual is educated before operating a vehicle because of a variety of factors. There are many important rules when driving on the road to keep everyone safe but to also help everyone travel efficiently. These guidelines range from being in the correct lane to not being distracted. This education is very important because it helps everyone to be on the same page about what and what you should not do when driving but it allows everyone to travel and make it to their destinations safely. Even with these guidelines and rules accidents still occur some are out of anyone’s control but often times there are steps that could have been taken to prevent these accidents and often times the deaths caused by them.

There are many steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. These steps are actions that everyone is taught in the drivers’ education system. A person should not operate a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a person should not be tired while driving, and an individual should not be distracted by a phone or anything that would take their eyes off of the road. Many times these are the leading causes of accidents and deaths while driving. Such actions or influences impair your ability to think critically and also delay your reaction time. They delay and impair reaction time and critical thinking because your mind is elsewhere or not fully functioning the way it would on a normal day-to-day basis. These delays cause you to lose precious seconds that might be the difference between an accident and possible death or continuing to your destination.

Another step that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths and accidents is to not drive recklessly. It is critical to follow the guidelines, rules, and speed limits because they are what have been put in place to keep you and others on the road safe. For example, when learning to drive you learn how to pass cars in your lane. This action requires safely speeding up and driving in the other lane for a short period of time and then safely returning back into your lane while using your turn signals to indicate what you are doing. It is highly important that you check the lane going the opposite way and your blind spots before preceding. This allows you to gauge if you can safely pass without causing a head-on collision or colliding with a possible car in your blind spot. Another good example is when entering onto the road. It is recommended that there be at least a city block between your position and the traveling car when trying to enter the road. This recommendation can be adjusted to the individual driving conditions to allow more space but should not be under a city block. This recommendation is so that oncoming traffic is not cut off causing possible rear endings and accidents. It is also important to wear one’s seatbelt. It is designed to keep you in the car and in the possibility of an accident keep you inside of the car instead of being thrown out and possibly crushed or killed from the car or simply being thrown out of the vehicle. I have had personal experience of being in a car accident.

On October 29 I was driving around with my friend and we were talking, laughing, and having a good time. We ended up going too fast along a gravel road so that when an animal crossed the road and I tried to avoid hitting it I lost control of the vehicle. I tried to regain control but I soon saw us going into the ditch right before I closed my eyes and braced for the impact. We ended up rolling the car and I remember vividly the feeling of my neck snapping. When the car came to a stop and me and my friend realized what had happened we called our parents and 911. We had not been wearing our seatbelts causing our injuries to be worse and also being the reason as to how I had felt my neck snap against the roof of the car.

When the first responders arrived they were amazed that we based on the shape of our vehicle. The car was totaled and my friend and I were both transported by our parents to the ER. I was put in a neck brace at the scene of the accident because I kept saying that it hurt. My friend had a goose egg on her head, cuts, and some glass in her arm that they were able to remove, and possible concussion but was otherwise ok. At around 2 or 3 in the morning, I was told that I had broken my neck or more specifically the C7 vertebrate. This vertebrate when broken along the spinal column can cause you to be paralyzed, luckily I was not paralyzed and was told I would spend the next 6 weeks in the neck brace. At my 3-week check, it was shown on the x-rays that I had broken the side of it causing it to be a stable fracture, and was able to be out of the neck brace. We were both very paranoid and scared of driving, sitting in the seats we had been in during the wreck, and gravel roads. It took months for us to go back to driving and from then on we were always more careful and wore our seat belts when driving.

In conclusion, driver’s education is essential to getting to drive and puts forth what to do to stay safe and gives steps to stay safe. I have personally learned the hard way and the steps I take to be a better and safer driver consist of not driving distracted, following rules and regulations, and also avoiding driving around times I know I am tired.