There is a saying…

When my mom was learning how to drive in Pakistan her driver told her, “جو ڈر گیا وہ مر گیا“ (“Jo dar gaya wo mar gaya”). It translates to “The one who gets scared/hesitates is the one who dies”. Personally I have never driven in Pakistan, nor do I ever want to but I can confirm that this saying is true. There are no rules while driving there in Pakistan, everyone tries to do whatever they can to get from point A to point B. If you don’t try to squish yourself in and try to wait for someone you might as well just wait forever. However, because of this everyone drives like they are going to crash. They are fully prepared for the person in front of them is going to do something crazy, something they haven’t seen before, because of this there aren’t many accidents.

Taking Drivers Ed. is an important part of preventing deaths. Though at times it may be boring and you think you may just be learning common knowledge, it’s always good to go over things you already know rather than missing out on important information. Some things may seem like common knowledge and that everyone knows it until you meet one person who doesn’t and causes a huge accident. Once on social media I saw a girl talking about how she was pulled over because she didn’t know she had to move to the side for an emergency vehicle. This is a great example of why people should take Drivers Ed.

One topic that I hope future Drivers Ed. courses include; how to drive in different weather conditions. When I took Drivers Ed. I was taught how to drive in light/heavy fog and in heavy rain. While those are the major weather concerns here in Washington, adding how to drive in snow and under the blazing sun would also be very beneficial. While it doesn’t snow a lot here, just teaching about different types of weather and driving could be very helpful. I didn’t know until recently what the difference between a 4-wheel drive, a 2-wheel drive, and an all-wheel drive was. Nor do I know how to chain my wheels if needed. Things like what to do when skidding or when/how to apply chains should be added in future courses. Adding these topics in future courses would also prevent many deaths and accidents.

Thankfully none of my family members have been in a serious car accident but I have seen many accidents that could have been prevented. Simple things like not tying down your things in the back of your pickup truck, not checking your blind spots before changing lanes, tailgating someone and they break suddenly. All these could have been prevented if the drivers took their time and were more aware while driving. Somethings that can cause these accidents include, running late, being on your phone, listening to loud music, and zoning out while driving. Most of these don’t seem like important factors but from personal experience they tend to affect my driving the most. For example, when I am running late or I don’t plan according to traffic, that is when I am most likely to tailgate someone or try to quickly change lanes without checking my blind spot. Another example is listening to music, while you are driving you are using your eyes and ears the most to figure out your surroundings. When you add music into that then it takes away part of your attention that could have prevented an accident.

I am so thankful for backup cameras and blind spot lights, as someone who’s shorter than average it’s hard to look behind and see if anyone is there. So even though I look behind the backup camera makes me feel 100% certain that it’s safe. Blind spot lights are another great asset that help remind drivers to check their blind spots, or that someone is in their blind spot. Both these devices can help prevent accidents.

Some things that I do is download 1-2 hours worth of music before I drive somewhere (especially if it’s a long drive). Instead of having to change my music or my playlist I can just play this long music file that has the songs that I like. In addition to that, utilizing the steering wheel to its full potential. There are so many buttons on our steering wheel that can help us avoid touching our phones, such as the volume, call, voice activation, skip, and many more.