Driving Prevention

There’s a knock on the door. You slowly open the door— it is a cop. He informs you that your sister has died in a car crash. That is it, that is all you can do, stand there and cry. No goodbye, no hug, no last I love you. The worst day of your life. You wish it could have been you. You wish for it to end differently. Car accidents happen all the time. According to the National highway traffic safety administration, “Motor vehicle traffic crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States, 2016 and 2017.” My dad and sister have been in a car accident. They were behind a truck on a highway when the truck started to have items spill out of it. A giant cooler came out, and my dad served and missed it. He went onto the side of the road, collecting mud on his tire. He rapidly pulled his car back onto the road. The mud on his tire made it hard to have control. Eventually, the mud won. He ended up spinning around into two donuts sending him flying back into a tree. Thankfully they made it out without any bruises or injuries, but the car was totaled. It was a truly humbling experience that I wish everyone could avoid hearing about. I could have easily lost my sister and dad in one trip. Taking driver education to help further experience will help prevent accidents and save many lives. We can not control all the situations, but we can learn how to avoid a crash and move out of the way. We can also help to prevent spinning and flipping a car by learning how to handle the wheel properly in a hydroplane. Hopefully, we can help avoid a crash and reduce the number of deaths. Many steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. The best prevention is not driving distracted. In a recent driving course I attended, the professor made me go around the coned course while reading a page from a book while foam balls were flying around and the music was blasting while the person in the back was singing loudly. Then we had to put on drunk goggles. They made us park and stop to let the lady cross. Both my partner and I almost hit the lady. Taking classes like this makes you realize how easy it is to get distracted and hit another car. It is stated that “Young drivers who have not completed driver’s education are 75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident, and 16 percent more likely to have an accident, as the study showed.” They also made us take the cars through a water skid pad. We had to maneuver around the cones while not flipping or doing donuts. The water rushed up under the tire, creating less traction, making it easier to lose control. Practicing how to handle a situation where you do not have control over the tires is important. Many people reach a puddle, hydroplane, freak out, then slam on the brake. But when a car hydroplanes, the most important thing to remember is not to panic. Hydroplaning is a loss of traction to the front tires. If you brake suddenly, it slows the front tires but locks the rear tires which can cause a spin-out. Another way to prevent accidents is to not drive while sleepy. One out of every six fatal crashes involves a drowsy driver, according to one study. Any time your mental awareness could be compromised, whether from alcohol, poor sleep, new medication, or even having a horrible cold. These situations should be a time to stay off the road or find an alternative to driving. But the best thing we can do to help be better and safer drivers is to be aware of their surroundings. Always be on the lookout for dangerous situations to avoid. If you are riding in a car with another driver and they keep talking and changing the music to be super loud, ask them to turn it down and politely tell them to pay attention to the road. If you feel unsafe in a situation, ask for the driver to let you out. Have your parents pick you up at the place that you got let out. Your parents will not be mad at you for asking to be picked up in a bad situation. At the end of the day they are just happy you are alive. These are all ways to ensure safety and prevent accidents.