Defensive Driving: The Road to Safety

Defensive Driving: The Road to Safety

            If you have ever heard the sound of glass shattering is something that will haunt you in your sleep. In 38,000 accidents annually, these drivers won’t hear this sound ever again because they are deceased. Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death in drivers under the age of 54. While this is such an unfortunate statistic, it is also a preventable one. Driver’s education is a tool in the driver’s tool belt to help them navigate the roadway in a safe manner that will not only make it a more enjoyable experience for them but also a safer one by reducing the number of deaths each year on the roadway.

    Driver’s education is the foundation for healthy and safe driving practices by making student drivers aware of the huge responsibility driving is. It shows them the outcomes that can happen with distracted driving and other unsafe driving habits. The most important aspect that a solid driver education program teaches is defensive driving. This helps the student driver be prepared in all possible scenarios by teaching them to constantly be aware of their surroundings and of other drivers. It also teaches them how to adjust their driving plan to avoid accidents or to minimize the damage that can occur during one. 

    To help reduce the amount of traffic fatalities, drivers should know and obey the traffic laws. Driving while distracted or under the influence is a recipe for disaster. Each driver should hold themselves personally accountable for everyone’s well being and resist the urge to text, talk on their cell phones, or to become complacent while driving. Not only the driver’s life, but those around them depend on it. Driver’s should also become defensive drivers at all times and be proactive with situations that could occur on the roadway in a means to put them in a more favorable driving situation. Defensive driving courses should be mandatory after repeated infractions to enhance the driver’s knowledge of the rules of the road and reinforce good driving habits. 

I have personally seen my family member drive distracted and while it did cause an accident it could have been much worse. While picking up a cell phone call, my family member drifted and hit the mirror of a car that was stranded on the highway. They were very lucky that this was a mirror and not a person. It reinforced that even a moment of distracted driving could turn deadly and that calls and texts can wait. 

    To help myself become a better driver I will turn my cell phone into sleep mode while driving as to limit the temptation of answering while driving. I also will limit other distractions such as extra passengers and loud music while I am behind the wheel. It is my responsibility to know and follow all the traffic laws and this also would help me become a safer driver. I will also help others become better drivers by setting a good example by modeling safe driving habits around them and showing courtesy to other drivers who share the roadway with me. I also will be sure that all passengers will wear their seatbelts at all times. 

    Driver’s education is the key to instilling safe and responsible driving habits. It also is up to each driver to hold themselves accountable to following all traffic laws and also all of the defensive driving techniques that were taught to them in driver’s education. Keeping these two points in the forefront, we can all reduce the number of traffic fatalities each year on American roadways.