The Importance of Safe Driving

The Importance of Safe Driving

Every year there are 6 million automobile accidents in the US alone. In these accidents, over 37,000 people die, and an additional 3 million are injured or disabled (via. The Wandering RV). These accidents are caused by a variety of different factors including distracted driving, drunk driving, inexperienced driving, and reckless driving. The majority of these accidents can be prevented simply by practicing safe driving techniques and reducing the temptation of distracted driving.

Over 25 percent of annual car accidents are caused by cell phones (via. The Wandering RV). That isn’t taking account of other forms of distracted driving including eating, vehicle passengers, and distractions outside of the vehicle. One of the easiest and most effective ways we can reduce distracted driving is by removing the temptation. When you get into your vehicle, turn your phone off and give it to a trustworthy passenger, or put it in a place where the device can’t be reached. This way if the temptation is too strong, and you need to use your device, the vehicle has to be stopped to access it. As for the other forms of distracted driving, be smart. Make sure the passengers of the vehicle are aware not to distract the driver, and try to keep your eyes on the road at all times. If you decide to get something to eat, take five minutes to eat it while the car is parked. Finishing your Mcdonalds cheeseburger is not worth risking the lives of yourself, and others.

One of the other major reasons for the extreme amount of accidents in the United States is driving while intoxicated. Even though it is illegal, and people are constantly reminded not to do it, drunk driving still happens. The reason intoxicated driving still is a huge issue is because of a lack of respect. When a person decides to make the decision to drive home, they have no doubt in their mind that they will make the drive unscathed. Not only is this idea not true, but it also puts others in danger. It isn’t just the drunk driver that gets hurt, the majority of the time it is the opposing person that ends up taking most of the damage. This can be prevented by really showing people how dangerous driving is. If you get people to respect the road, they are less likely to take that risk when intoxicated.

According to the CDC teen drivers in the age group of 16-19 are three times more likely to get in a vehicle accident than drivers over the age of 20. This is due to inexperience, young people get in situations where they don’t quite know what to do, and they make mistakes. Drivers Education does a pretty good job of reducing this as much as possible; however, if students were spending more time on the road with a teacher instead of in the classroom, they may retain information better and know how to act in these situations. Inexperienced teenage drivers are also much more likely to drive dangerously than an experienced driver. A lot of first-time drivers have never experienced a car accident in their lives. So they don’t know how brutal they can be. This again can be prevented by a better Drivers Education system. Students need to be shown the scary statistics for them to respect the road.

Over 50 percent of all accidents end in injury or death (via. The Wandering RV). These numbers can be greatly reduced by practicing safe driving techniques and eliminating the temptation of distracted driving. Additionally, it is important for drivers to not be scared of the road but respect it. In order to solve the large number of accidents in this country, everyone needs to take a part in practicing safe driving techniques.

https://www.thewanderingrv.com/car-accident-statistics/#:~:text=Annual%20United%20States%20Car%20Crash%20Statistics,-This%20section%20of&text=On%20average%2C%20there%20are%206,in%20automobile%20crashes%20per%20year.