Limit Distractions, Limit Deaths

Think about a year of your life, from New Year’s Day to Eve, your birthday; the activities you engaged in throughout the months. Now think about how during that same time span, 34,000 people in the U.S. experienced death, all as a result of driving. That’s right, an average of 34,000 people a day are killed as a result of motor vehicle accidents. With proper driver’s education, the number of deaths in the U.S. can be highly reduced among young drivers.

Driver’s education plays a significant role in informing young drivers on the rules of safe driving, the importance of proper roadway safety, and the steps they can take as an individual to maintain it. Driver’s education not only advises students on the dangers of distracted driving through statistics and examples, but also gives them a chance to experience driving firsthand, and in turn raises awareness of the dangers of distracted driving through a hands-on experience. Without the chance to participate in the activity of driving with an instructor, new drivers do not have the opportunity to experience just how fatal it can be to drive distracted. With proper driver’s education, there is a higher chance of each driver choosing to follow roadway safety precautions and generally being more cautious when it comes to driving. As individuals, they can follow steps to reduce the number of vehicle-related deaths.

Although myself, my friends, or family have never been the cause of reckless driving or vehicle-related accidents, I have been involved in a minor accident. My mother was driving a vehicle, inching forward through traffic and it was rear ended due to the driver behind us not paying their full attention to the road. Whether it may be with a mobile phone, overly loud music, navigation, other passengers, or eating, there are a multitude of distractions that can divert your focus away from the activity that is driving. Avoiding life-changing destruction and death can be done when choosing to pursue an option as simple as pulling over to the side of the road or merely waiting to take part in the activity until you arrive at the destination and the vehicle is safely parked. These options are easily pursued and are much less risky than putting the lives of yourself and possibly others in danger by choosing to answer a message, use a mobile phone, or engage in any other distracting activity rather than paying your full attention to the activity that is driving.

For instance, say you look away from the road for approximately five seconds to answer a text message while going 55 miles per hour. In just that five seconds, you would have travelled the length of a football field (millerandzois.com). Imagine the destruction that would follow if the vehicle had veered off the roadway. Everything can change in a matter of seconds, and when driving, where you decide to direct your focus can mean the difference between life and death. Lowering the number of vehicle-related deaths in the U.S. can start with drivers learning to simply pay their full focus to the road.

There are easy steps you can take and can encourage others to take as well to become safer on the road, and by following these steps, America can hopefully see a tomorrow with less vehicle-related deaths. These steps include checking all mirrors and blind spots before driving as well as stopping/moving the vehicle, planning ahead for circumstances including the weather, your alcohol intake, etc., keeping your distance from vehicles in front, following the speed limit, staying awake and alert, and limiting distractions as much as possible. For specifics regarding limiting distractions, these can range from picking the right music station to choosing to store your mobile phone and/or other devices in the backseat or trunk; it depends on your situation and what decisions you think will be the best fit for it. By choosing to take safer steps on the road and prior to driving, even if they might not be the easiest decisions, you are setting an example for other drivers who may not have the habits needed to be completely safe. Setting an example as a safe and competent driver helps make the roads safer for all, and if more and more drivers choose to take up safe roadway habits, we can work towards limiting the number of deaths.

No matter how important something such as navigation, a text message, or a smart phone may seem in the moment, the lives of yours and others are exceedingly more valuable and can be over in an instant if the driver’s full attention is taken off of driving. No distraction is worth a life, and as taught in driver’s education, change can start with one person deciding to be safer on the road.