The Road to Success

Earlier this year I found myself on the side of the road with the front bumper of my car hanging off. I stood there in the dark with my phone flashlight in shock, it was a little after midnight with strong winds and constant spatters of rain. While delivering easter eggs to several houses for a community fundraiser that night, I had run over something—I am still unsure of what exactly it was—that had dislodged my front bumper. It was a single-vehicle accident and luckily my friend and I were safe physically…but mentally we were distraught. Feelings of frustration and fear racked my mind as I didn’t know what I had hit, if the bumper was going to completely fall off, or if I was should wake my parents with a call explaining how I had just been in an accident. I told myself that my friend and I were safe, I needed to pay more attention and be more cautious of my surrounding as we had been driving on backroads littered with fallen tree branches and debris. Although the experience shook me up for a while, as I had avoided driving altogether. It served as a wake-up call to me that driving is not a game. When people’s lives are in the balance, it’s crucial to make sure I am focused and cautious from the moment I buckle my seat belt to start driving till the moment I park and turn off the engine. Safety to me will always be important and even though I attained my license I can still continue to learn about road safety because it keeps me safe every single day.

As I think of education I look to my future as I matriculate to college. Education allows us to be successful in any space we take interest in. By educating drivers about road safety, we are able to chart a path to successfully reduce the number of driving-related deaths. Driver education is crucial to keeping us safe in our daily lives as we use highways, back roads, and city streets to and from school, work, and other activities.

According to Dictionary.com, “driver education is a course of study, as for high school students, that teaches the techniques of driving a vehicle, along with basic vehicle maintenance, safety precautions, and traffic regulations and laws”. Having a study that focuses on driving, spreads awareness on how to do so efficiently, and safely which can significantly reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving. It is important for drivers to learn about all things involving road safety, and operating a vehicle in order to keep pedestrians and other drivers safe.

In finding a solution to reducing the number of deaths related to driving we must first identify the leading cause–motor vehicle traffic crashes are the leading cause in the U.S. The first step to safety is making sure you are doing your part to keep yourself and others around you safe. Such as consistently inspecting your vehicle, the tires, brakes, acceleration, etc., always following the education that was shared through driver’s ed prior to attaining your license, always following road rules, and considering road and weather conditions. Practicing safety protocols keeps us safe and ultimately reduces deaths related to driving.

As a teenager who recently received my license, I would like to offer some helpful steps that I have acquired throughout my experience as a driver. After first going through the safety protocols, we should try to minimize anything that could potentially distract from the focus of driving, such as turning on “Do not disturb” on your mobile device to avoid incoming calls or texts that may grab your attention. Using apps like Life 360, that send your location to your family and loved ones while your own the road and offer direct contact to roadside assistance in case of emergencies. As I am a part of a world that is increasingly consumed by our phones and devices it’s helpful to do our part by using them to our advantage and knowing when to silence them for driving safety. Limit the number of people in the car while driving, with the exception of having a parent or guardian accompanying you for support or assistance; cars full of friends can tend to get loud and distracting as you try to focus on the road, be sure to consider this when going out or offering rides to others. Remember that safety comes in levels, making sure you are practicing safe driving skills can keep you and those around you safe, it also has a huge potential to influence your friends and family to drive responsibly as well.

Some steps I can take are increasing my awareness of the road and surrounding cars at night, consistently inspecting my vehicle, paying attention and following all road signs, and always being mindful of the weather and road conditions. After my accident, I became more mindful of the importance of practicing safe driving steps. Practicing safe driving protects me and others around me. Driver education ensures that I am able to identify safe driving protocols, and provides me with the resources to continue to learn more, making it crucial to the safety of every driver. Reaffirming the huge impact driver education has on successfully reducing deaths related to driving.