Safety First

One day, my mom was driving home, and arrived at an intersection. My mom had the right-of-way, so she continued to drive. A car was turning onto her road and didn’t stop at the stop sign, ramming my mom and her car hard, and while my mom thankfully survived, her car most definitely didn’t. When the rest of my family and I received the news of the horrific accident, we were devastated.

Having a mom that was involved in a serious accident has shown me the importance of safe driving, and as I start to learn to drive, I make sure to make safety my number one priority to ensure that my loved ones and I are never involved in such an incident . For one, I took advantage of drivers ed, because while many might rush through it simply to pass the test, I made sure to know it much better than that. Drivers ed is one of the most important steps in becoming a good driver and reducing the number of accidents because knowledge is power. Knowing and remembering what to do in any given situation will not only save you in a situation, but prevent many situations from originating in the first place.

Furthermore, drivers need to simply be cautious. Last year, at an event, a couple students and I rode in my friend’s car, and drove to a local store to pick up supplies for the event. My friend, who was a couple years older than me, started texting and driving. I told him that he should probably keep his eyes on the road, and while nothing happened that day, that isn’t to say that nothing will ever happen. As human beings, it’s natural to get more comfortable with something we do often. It’s not a crime for drivers to be relaxed, but that isn’t to say that we still shouldn’t drive defensively. To be a safer and better driver on the road, we need to be alert and aware of all of our surroundings so that even if someone else does something wrong, we know how to act in response. But most importantly, we need to set an example. The way I drive is heavily influenced by my parents. My mom used to say, “No matter how late you are, you should never drive unsafely, because the few minutes you might save are not worth the accident you most likely will cause.”

Driver safety is extremely important. Tens of thousands of people die every year due to car accidents, many of them due to speeding and/or reckless driving. But if we take steps to be safer drivers, by being role models, and by being alert and aware, we can drastically reduce the amount of car-related deaths and create a safer, more aware society.