Becoming Comfortable with your Driving Habits

Becoming Comfortable with your Driving Habits

When I was six years old, my dad got into a mild car accident. The accident was not severe, but I had experienced my own little trauma from this incident, which now reflects into my current mentality when driving on roads. When I was nine years old, my mom got into a dangerous car accident. She, along with my sister, were driving normally on a highway when another car swerved into them because he did not look into his rear-view mirrors before turning. Ultimately, both cars were totaled but the after-effects were worse. My mom now struggles with neck pain and other posture issues, and my sister has experienced her own driving trauma.

Currently, I have never been in a car accident while driving and I hope I never will. In 2018, there were 381 deaths that occurred on Minnesota roads, most of them were drivers that were driving under the influence of alcohol. When driving, I pushed myself to maintain a strict habit of eliminating unnecessary distractions which included: silencing my phone unless using a navigation app such as google maps or wayz, reducing discussion among other individuals in the car, keeping the radio off or at a very low volume, and keeping my eyes on the road. In my opinion, I learned many more driving skills from first-hand driving experience either on highways or backroads than in a drivers ed program. However, without drivers ed, I do not believe I would be as alert, educated, and informed of the great risks and dangers of driving. The graphic videos portrayed during drivers ed of people getting severely hurt or dying from a car crash showed me the possible effects of what could happen if I was distracted while driving. Since I have never been in a situation that was fatal, these videos taught me that dangerous events like these are possible and that they can happen in real life if you make stupid decisions.

After maintaining a good record with my driving so far, I have noticed that it is extremely tempting to become comfortable and begin to start laxing safety restrictions that I had first put in place when I got my license. Becoming comfortable with your driving habits, and any habit in life, can be extremely detrimental and dangerous to your safety and the safety of others. Hence, it is important for daily driving reflection and evaluation. Keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road; silence your cell phone; do not drive if you do not think you are safe to do so; turn off the radio if it is distracting you; do not create conversation with other passengers if you cannot stay alert on the road; buckle up when driving; and drive safely so that others around you feel safe as well. Therefore, I believe safe driving, especially during elements like rain, snow, or wind, is critical in maintaining your safety as well as the safety of those driving around you.