The Importance of Safe Driving

Growing up as I was preparing for my drivers test, I spent countless hours in the car with my mom and dad driving around a small town park. I was always advised to take the turn slower, brake more in advance, and to always keep my eyes on the road. While all of these things that my parents told me were great words of advice and very important things, nothing stuck with me more than what my dad would always say. My dad would always tell me that “a vehicle is the largest weapon you can own.” I used to always think he was absolutely crazy, but now that I am no longer a young 16 year old wanting their license, I couldn’t agree more with what he said.

According to Forbbes, over 46,000 people die in a car crash in the United States per year. Last year in my state of residence, Ohio, there were 1,154 fatal car crashes. Fatal car crashes can be caused by a number of things such as speeding, drunk driving, distracted driving, cell phones, fatigue, the weather, and failure to stop at traffic directions such as red lights and stop signs. Some important steps that drivers can take to avoid being the reason for a fatal crash are to follow the speed limit. As simple as that sounds, studies show that 45% of drivers report that they typically drive 10-15 miles per hour above the speed limit at all times. In 2020, speeding accidents alone killed 11,258 people. Another way to not be the cause of a fatal accident is to never drink and drive. Statistics show that 35 people every day die from a drunk driving accident, that means 1 person about every 40 minutes. The legal BAC limit to drive is 0.08% however, one easy way to avoid pushing the limit is to not drive at all after a sip of alcohol. One last example to avoid being the cause of a fatal crash is to stay off of your cell phone. In my personal experience, if you look out your window, several people will be flying down the highway on their phone. Although forty eight states have drinking and driving laws in place, many Americans still actively text and drive. 1 out of every 4 accidents in the United States is caused by texting and driving. Statistics suggest that there are more than 400 deaths annually caused by texting and driving. One easy way to avoid this, is to stay off your cell phone while driving a vehicle!

While beginning your driving career, driver education is extremely important. These courses teach new drivers how to maneuver their vehicle properly, how to handle road work situations, and what all the signals and signs mean. Another important thing taught in drivers education is how to properly park, how to parallel park, and how to back in and out of spaces. Without these courses, the road would be even more dangerous than it is on a daily basis. Drivers would be less cautious and more reckless, we as Americans are extremely lucky to have this procedure in place.

In my lifetime, I have been in one car accident. I was rear ended on the highway because traffic came to a slow and the driver behind me was distracted and did not come to a slow. The weather conditions on this day were less than ideal as well, it was pouring down rain so cars were also sliding when coming to a slow stop. If there is one thing that my personal accident taught me, it was to always be more cautious in poor weather conditions and as I learned from them, always give the car in front of you enough space and pay attention to the road.

Steps that I plan on taking to always be the most cautious driver that I can be are to pay attention to the weather. If the conditions are bad and I can wait to go out, I will! I will also always be very cautious of my surroundings on the road, even though I may not be distracted or on my cell phone, that does not mean that the driver right beside me or in front of me is just as cautious. I always pay attention to my surroundings to avoid any incident. FInally, I will never get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. In a world where taxis, ubers, lyft, and public transport exist, there is never any reason to get behind the wheel after drinking. Although I am not a perfect driver and accidents do happen, I am always as cautious as I can be and I have driver’s education to thank for my awareness on the road.