Distracted Driving is Deadly

Driver education is vastly underrated. Many people do not even bother to complete the required hours of supervised driving. They drive for a couple of hours for a few days and then go take their test. Tons of people do not even read the driver’s handbook before they take their permit test. They just go in blindly and either hope or assume that they will be ok. It appears that they take a similar approach to driving as well. This is an unfortunate truth, because of how deadly automobiles can be when they are operated by inexperienced drivers who do not understand the consequences of their actions. If people understood the true dangers of distracted driving, I believe they would not make the choices they do on the road. Knowing how to drive is incredibly important, as the chances of getting into an accident are much lower with experience than if one were to just hop into a car with little to no experience.

People text and drive without understanding just how dangerous doing so is. Some of my family members text and drive at times, it always makes me anxious because I know how risky it is. I try to limit texting my family when I know they are on the road, simply because I care about them, and I would hate to have been the text to cause an accident. Many times, when I am in the passenger seat I text for other people, so they do not text while they drive. When I see someone texting and driving, I try and speak up because it is incredibly perilous. People really do not understand that taking their eyes off the road, even for a short amount of time, can be fatal. My boyfriend was in a car accident, and he gets very anxious in the car, as it was a very traumatic experience for him. With the amount of people on the highway and how quickly automobiles can move; texting can turn these conditions into a deadly combination for distracted drivers.

Maybe if the facts about how many people die from automobile accidents was more publicized on sites teens are on, people would realize just how much life is lost every year. I think if social media platforms were to put banners up across their sites it would at least be more visible in teens’ lives. When I read how many American lives have been lost due to automobile accidents compared to wars I was surprised; I was unaware that it was so many. There could be a class that is mandated before teens are allowed to get their licenses that talks about safe driving. In that note, they could make driving classes at high schools mandatory. My high school had a class for driving, where teens would drive with an instructor and in many cases, it also lowered their insurance bills. Or they could have people who have lost their family members to accidents talk about how much it has affected them. There could be software on phones that prevents people from answering texts while they are driving. Unsafe driving practices are really a multi-faceted issue that has a lot of causes that need creative solutions to be properly addressed.

I am currently in the process of getting my license. I am trying to get a lot of road experience as I have a lot of anxiety. I am terrified of causing an accident and being anxious and stressed while driving only increases the chances of an accident. As such, I plan to get my license when I feel comfortable and confident behind the wheel. A lot of practice is the best way to get comfortable driving, as it is something one needs to get acclimated to. There is a lot of information to process and dangers to look for when it comes to driving, so getting used to safe driving habits is a crucial step. After all, habits are formed from repetition so that is the best way to learn how to drive. Once these habits become second nature, that is when I believe I will get my license. I do not pick up my phone when I am driving a car, not even to change the music. I will never text and drive because the statistics show, no matter how much of a great driver one thinks they are, the risk only increases. If I ever have children, I will make sure to impart this knowledge to them as well when they learn to drive. Anyone I know that is a new driver, I will be sure to tell them the dangers and encourage them to have safe driving habits as well.