Safe Driving Is a Life or Death Situation

In the U.S there are just about 6 million car accidents a year. More than 90 people die in these car accidents every day. Just in Ohio, there are 300.000 accidents a year, about 3 fatal accidents happen every day. The worst part about this is that most of these crashes are preventable. This is why driver education is very important, if they know the rules and know them well there would be fewer accidents. Human error counts for about 94% of all accidents per year. About 21% of these human error accidents are not knowing how to drive in harsh weather conditions. In a survey they asked about 2000 Americans if they knew how to drive in harsh winter conditions, about 91% said they don’t know how to drive in the snow. I know people who don’t know how to drive in the rain and snow so they just don’t go anywhere, which is also important. Learning how to drive in the rain and snow is very important because you never know what can happen. It’s about being prepared and safe. About 1 in 4 crashes in the U.S if by distracted driving. These distractions can be music, loud people in the car, texting, posting on social media, or even something as simple as plugging stuff in. In 2018, 25% of these crashes affected young adults ages 20-29 the most. The most distracted age group is 15-19. Another group of human error driving is impaired driving. These impairments can be: drunk, drugged, or even tired driving. 43% of Americans have admitted to driving while drunk. Almost 1-10 drivers think that driving high is okay. All of these things are taught during driver’s education, you learn how to drive in harsh conditions, not to drive impaired or distracted.

To me, there are many ways to reduce these accidents. First, I feel like during a driver’s ed class you should have to take it 3 times: when it’s dark, snowing, and raining. This will prove that they can handle it and know how to be safe. Secondly, I think we should have harsher punishments for driving impaired. I feel like they are given too many chances, the first time they put themselves and others on the road in danger they should have their license revoked. Especially under 18, you get caught one time and you don’t get your license back until you’re 18 and drug/alcohol-free for 3 months at least. If you’re over 18, you should have to go to AA/NA classes for a certain amount of time along with 3-months drug/alcohol tests that must come back clean. I feel like this would dramatically reduce the number of accidents for two reasons. One; no one wants their license revoked. It’s an expensive inconvenience and they will have to ask for rides and Ubers or buses- which are super expensive. Lastly, I feel like it should be a law that your phone has to be out of sight and on silent while driving, if you are caught you should get a minimum fine of $500 that increases every time they are caught. This will limit the amount of texting and posting while driving. With fewer distractions, there will be fewer accidents.

I get so annoyed when I see people doing it. I remember one time I was in the car with my mom and it was snowing really and slippery. We were on the highway and this car speeds past us and starts sliding and we were so close to being hit by them. This was a terrifying experience and to this day I’m still a little scared to get on the highway. I know a lot of people who drive drunk or high because they think it’s not that bad. One of my friends was driving drunk and ran a stop sign and got a ticket but they laughed it off. Imagine if they ran that sign and hit a person or another car. It also bothers me when I’m in the car with a family member and they are texting and snapping, so distracted they don’t even notice when the light is green and I have to tell them. I remember when I first saw my sister driving with her knees and I was so scared. These things are safe but are seen as normal because many people do them.

When I’m driving I try to keep my phone away and on silent, I set my music before I get in the car and I don’t change it while driving. I try not to drive tired or when I’m stressed knowing I won’t be able to focus on the road. I help my friend while driving by answering texts and calls for them or changing the song for them. Sometimes when I’m with my mom and she’s tired I offer to drive her around. I recommend the iPhone setting Mute While Driving, it’s set automatically and a lot of people don’t know it even exists. These are just the smaller thing I can do to help people drive safer.