Safety On The Road

Driver’s education is important in reducing the number of driving related deaths because instead of getting dated information from parents or other adults managing the on-the-road experience, students are taught up-to-date laws that are reinforced with certified instructor road experience. Instructional videos may seem violent, but they are there to drive home a point. The videos are there to show the student just what can happen when/if they are driving distracted. Videos also provide valuable information on defensive driving skills.

As always, it is important to have parents reinforce driving skills. Driver’s education shouldn’t be expected to be an all-encompassing experience from only a driving school. When I had difficulty with maneuverability, my mom sat for hours on a parking lot curb as I drove through the cones, taking pictures as I went to show me how to correct and make it right. When I was having difficulty entering and exiting the expressway, she had me exit and enter every ramp along the expressway through our county and on to the next. Correction and reinforcement were key to making me a confident driver.

Simple steps to reduce driving related deaths are to obey speed limits, take your time, pay attention to everyone driving around you, and to leave enough space to accommodate for quick braking or someone in a far bigger hurry than you. Put your phone away. Far too many people can be seen texting and driving. Remember also that the car is not a mobile restaurant. Simply reaching in for that last French fry can lead to lane drift. Distracted driving can kill. Drinking and driving or drug use and driving are also of issue. In short, when you are driving, you should only be driving. To be engaged in other activities such as texting, eating, laughing it up with a car load of friends, changing your music selection or grabbing that drink that fell can all result in catastrophic injuries.

I was in a rear-end collision because of lack of knowledge of how to yield. My dad was waiting for traffic to clear when a car came barreling down the exit ramp and ran right into us. The driver told us the accident was our fault because my dad paused to let traffic by. He was yielding as the sign said to do. Obviously, the state trooper took our side.

My dad was in a different rear-end collision the week prior. The man who hit him was busy changing the podcast on his iPod. My dad was hit so hard that it actually shot his car up over a fence and into some trees. His car was totaled, but both he and the offender walked away with no injuries.

While riding in a car with a friend, I quickly found that she is far too dangerous to consider driving with again. She did not obey speed limits and ran several stoplights. My life flashed before my eyes. Life 360 showed my mom just how careless my friend was and we talked about driving safety. My parents also told me that if I was out, not the driver and didn’t feel safe, no matter where I was, they would come to pick me up. If you are unable to be in control of your personal safety while in the car with someone else, find another way back home. Better to call mom and dad than end up in an ambulance. I will never drive with her again.

In order to encourage better and safer driving as a new teen driver, my parents would only allow one passenger in my car at a time. That passenger had to sit in the back seat of my vehicle for the first full year of driving. That encouraged focus on the road and less on what my passenger was doing. It allowed me to have full view out of both front windows and to get the rhythm down for the general path I was taking to and from my usual destinations.

Helping others to be safer drivers can sometimes boil down to being a good model. Perhaps you can’t fix other people’s driving as you are on the road, but you can certainly be a good model for your friends, especially if you are the driver. Watch your speed. Watch for people. Parking lots are dangerous. Be courteous. Be mindful. Be responsible. Know that driving is indeed a privilege and if not taken with the utmost care, injury or death could occur.