Take Initiative While Driving

With many drivers wishing to obtain their license and more to come every single day, driver education is a major step to ensure safety of you and others on the road. Without any sort of driver’s education course given, the risk of death will be increased and safety on the road will begin to be less secure. Learning in these courses will decrease the likelihood of death immensely and will give you a huge step up on any sort of road in any condition. Learning about the vehicle you drive, down to just defensive driving, can help you and others stay safe. These simple courses will allow less deaths to occur year by year. Negligent driving can have terrible consequences and is why being able to be a defensive driver is so crucial to safety. The more you learn in these courses, the more apparent it becomes that being a selfless driver is the key to success and how the knowledge to drive on the road safely will allow everyone to come home. Multiple things can happen on the road that are not common or even expected, but thanks to driver education courses you would be able to react accordingly and safely to the situation you may be in. Being attentive and accountable on the road will greatly reduce the number of deaths on the road each year.

Taking initiative while driving will greatly reduce the risk of getting into a fatal car accident. Some examples of this initiative will be to remove distractions or possible actions that will cause your eyes to be off the road. The biggest distraction in this world is possibly phones while driving. It is your responsibility to have the phone somewhere safe in the vehicle and out of your hand. If you need the phone for navigation purposes, be sure to buy a secure phone mount so your eyes and hands can focus primarily on driving and staying safe. Even a water bottle rolling around in the passenger’s footwell can create a potential danger to you and other drivers on the road. Although not so seemingly dangerous, looking down and reaching for a water bottle while driving can cause you to accidentally steer in either direction of oncoming traffic. Be sure to secure all belongings and stay diligent on the road. One of the most selfish reasons on the road that may cause accidents or potential death would be road rage. We all get upset some days, but risking your life and others on the road is not excusable. Staying calm and collected will be key in getting out of these situations. Practicing patience will ensure everyone gets home safely.

I have witnessed some of my peers get into an accident. My friends and I tend to enjoy going to car meets and car shows. Unfortunately, some of these car events can get out of hand primarily due to peer pressure. During this meet, two vehicles lined up at a red light and began revving their engines. Multiple people then began to chant, taunting these two individuals to race. The moment the light turned green, both vehicles lurched forward to get ahead of the other. Sadly, one of the individuals lost control of their vehicle and smashed into a light pole. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the situation could have easily gone in a much worse direction or all together could have been avoided.

A few crucial steps to decrease possibly endangering safety on the road would include staying attentive, practicing patience, and making good decisions. Attentiveness has been decreased from drivers due to modern technology in cars with their safety sensors and rear view cameras. These are amazing technological advances, but will only be useful if the driver also is using their mirrors and basic knowledge of safety on the road along with the technology. Practicing patience may seem like something that has been told since childhood, but the action of being patient is tougher than it seems. Allowing your anger to take over on the road will endanger you and others on the road. Keeping your emotions in check will allow everyone, including yourself, to get to their home safe and sound. Making good decisions such as buying a phone mount, putting your phone on do not disturb, even a simple volume check on your stereo can all lead up to making better decisions for how you drive and making each mile on the road safer. You only have one life, do not play with it on the road.