It’s your choice

The difference between driving safely and not driving safely can be
alluded to the difference of life and death. Car accidents kill 3,287
every day. In the United States, an average of six million car
accidents every year out of which two million are permanently
injured. With these numbers you might ask, what are some ways to help
become a safer driver with these terrible odds? Teach people how to
be safe on the roads, about the importance of seatbelts, why not to
text and drive, and why to stay sober on the roads. Education is the
best way to prevent a life or death situation, when you are informed
you know the right thing to do.

The
importance of “seatbelts save lives” is one thing that should be
taught. A surprising one in seven people do not wear seatbelts. If
you are not wearing a seat belt you easily may be ejected from your
seat and be injured. Buckling up also increases your survival rate in
a car crash by 45 percent. Reckless driving should also be addressed.
Speeding down the road can lead to losing control of your vehicle.
Every time you increase your speed it also increases the distance
needed to carefully stop your vehicle. Another danger to speeding is
that the faster you are going on the road the more fatal the accident
will be. Texting, or distracted driving, has become increasingly
popular, especially with advanced technology. People think they can
talk or text on their phones and still maintain control of the
vehicle. Approximately 421,000 are injured in crashes involving
distracted driving every year. Seventy-eight percent of these were
due to texting. Lastly the effects of driving under the influence
must be covered. Driving under the influence means driving a vehicle
while consuming alcohol or drugs, which puts you and all other
drivers at risk. First off this is highly illegal and can earn you a
hefty fine of over ten thousand dollars if caught. Secondly being
impaired while driving slows your ability to react. Your vision is
also affected by alcohol by becoming blurry due to slow eye muscle
function. Being under the influence also causes somnolence. This then
can lead to swerving and eventually crashing into something or even
someone.

I
feel that all these things should be addressed and made clear before
you start driving. One way to do this is to have a mandatory class in
high school or even middle school. Education is best learned when
young because it tends to stick with you a whole lot better.
Hopefully by teaching the young people of today it will decrease the
amount of car accidents in the future.