The Safety In Numbers

The Safety In Numbers

The importance of safety when driving can be demonstrated by the annual number of driving related deaths per year in America. Over 30,000 per year as recorded in 2019. Any teenager or adult looking into getting their license will usually go through a drivers ed class as an efficient way to learn both the rules of the road as well as get real life experience behind the wheel. But why is it so important to take a drivers education course? Driving related accidents can happen to anyone, and learning how to take all of the precautions in avoiding them is the number one way to stay safe. Can someone learn to drive without ever taking a drivers ed class? Possibly, but in that process they will be missing on many of the important steps that drivers ed classes use. Being able to learn all of the aspects of driving, whether it be physical precautions or mental ones can have an impactful change.

Knowing how to protect oneself behind the wheel is important. It can be the difference between life and death. Making sure to understand the rules of the road, advocating for sober drivers, and learning how to deal with road rage are all factors that contribute to safe driving. It can be anything from taking an online quiz or class about driving rules to actually retaking the drivers test to make sure that all of the rules of the road are being followed and understood clearly. Miscommunication can be the cause of many driving related accidents. When two parties don’t completely understand, the risk of accidents increases. A wrong turn, not knowing the right away, misunderstanding road signs. All risks that can be prevented with the right knowledge. According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), approximately ⅓ of all driving accidents are caused by drunk drivers. Drunk drivers increase the risk of accidents and disasters for everyone on the road. Science has proven that alcohol immensely hinders the brain in its ability to perform cognitive functions, such as driving. Not only that, but many drunk driving accidents occur at night, when vision is already down for sober drivers. Knowing to never get behind the wheel while intoxicated, or letting someone who is intoxicated to get behind the wheel can save multiple lives. This also goes for driving while under the influence, whether it be recreational or medical. Intoxicated driving is preventable and can save thousands of lives.

A new issue that has become more prevalent on the road is distracted driving. With the emergence of handheld technology such as smartphones it is easy to want to check a message, or look through social media when driving as it may seem a quick action. However, many studies have proven that the human brain can only completely focus on one thing at a time, and checking a text message may mean not seeing a stop sign, causing an accident to occur. When driving cell phones should be completely turned off, or connected to a hands free system that allows for easy access. Sending a text message is not more important than being safe and alive.

Another major thing that can help to keep everyone on the road safe is knowing how to control road rage. Road rage is described as aggressive or angry behavior between drivers. It can be anywhere from verbal insults and threats to physical threats towards other drivers and pedestrians. Road rage can be an extremely dangerous act, as something small can spiral and cause major accidents and deaths to occur. Knowing how to manage the anger into a manageable form is important in protecting and keeping everyone safe. Whether it is learning how to focus on something else, learning to be patient, or even in drastic situations knowing when to pull over and call the authorities. Even changing something small as always following speed limits can make a huge difference. With road rage accidents causing roughly 30 deaths per yet it is extremely important to know how to prevent it.

Everyone has experienced some form of reckless driving in their life. I am no exception. For a major part of my life my step father did not know how to control his emotions sometimes when driving, and this would end up in him driving very recklessly. Speeding up, braking very hard, yelling at people in the car, it was always a very terrifying experience. I am very happy that he is learning to control his anger and stop driving when he is feeling a certain way but it was still very frightening when his anger driving would happen. I am also sure that he is not the only person who has done this, but that just means that there is just a major change that needs to happen.

So what can you do to be a safe driver? Educate. Educate yourself, your friends, your family. Learning what steps to take to keep everyone safe may seem tedious but it is for a good cause and allows everyone to be able to see another day.