Drops in a Tidal Wave of Change

Many of us have experienced pain and suffering that has been caused by accidents involving motorized vehicles. Crashes can be extremely dangerous and can have intense repercussions. There are people who have lost their lives or their family. People have suffered life altering injuries that drastically decrease their quality of life. Such disasters affect entire communities and as such it is essential that we do all we can to prevent these fatal accidents. There are many people who turn a blind eye because they feel like their small contribution won’t help at all in the grand scheme of things. However, like a tidal wave is made up of individual droplets of water, when we all do our small and seemingly insignificant part, we can make a real difference. To accomplish this in the number of fatal car accidents, we as members of a community can work together to grow awareness and understanding. This can help immensely in taking a step in the right direction.

Having educated drivers is essential to increasing driving safety. There are many rules associated with driving that provide a framework for the safe and controlled use of motorized vehicles. With all the different lights, signs, right of way, and more there is a lot of knowledge that goes into being able to drive safely on roads where other people are driving as well. Driver education provides more opportunities to learn and become comfortable with the rules of the road. In addition to this, young drivers are given more opportunities to gain real experience with driving which can improve their confidence and capabilities in driving which improve the safety of all drivers. When a driver is inexperienced or uneducated, accidents are much more likely to happen.

Many people have suggested courses of action that can be taken to improve safety during driving. There are many different causes for fatal car accidents, and it is difficult to figure out how to solve all of these different issues. The best we can do is to take the issue piece by piece. Some steps we could take towards reducing deaths related to driving would be to increase awareness towards distracted driving. There are many instances were cellphone use and other distractions have caused accidents during driving. Taking measures such as implementing consequences for cell phone use while driving, more publicly revealing the dangers involved with distracted driving, and even installing safety features into cellular device could help greatly with overcoming these issues. Education and awareness are vital.

At one point my mom went on a bike ride and there was a car that was driving too quickly and not paying attention to their surroundings. They hit my mom’s bike and sent her spiraling out of control. Her bike dented the side of their car and one of the bike pedals got caught in the spokes of the tire from the impact. Miraculously my mom was not seriously injured by this accident, but it shook all of us. We instantly became more aware of the real dangers motor vehicles can pose when not used correctly. My mom was obeying all the rules of the road and doing everything she was supposed to do, but because one driver wasn’t paying attention my mom could have easily lost her life. It was an experience that has taught me the importance of being aware and always following the rules when using motorized vehicles.

As a driver myself, I know that it is my duty to drive safely to ensure the safety of the people around me. I have learned a lot about safe driving over the past year and a half as I half served a voluntary church mission. During this time, we were given mission vehicles to drive which all contained a device that warned us against various unsafe actions such as speeding, driving aggressively, or driving without a seatbelt. They also had a big emphasis on teaching us ways to drive safely such as not using cellphones while driving, using all cameras/mirrors/looking over your shoulder when backing up a vehicle. It may seem silly since these are things most people have been told to do their entire lives, but this was the first time in my life where exceptions to these rules were not tolerated. You were expected to always drive safely, regardless of the circumstances. These months I spent driving with this device and training have helped me gain a greater awareness of these bad habits. Since returning home from my mission, I still try to drive like I have this device in my car to ensure that I drive safely. It has opened my eyes to the fact that each of us as individuals plays a key role in making our roads safe.

We need to drive safely ourselves and we need to encourage a culture in our communities where this type of driving is expected. As everyone does their part to become a safer driver, it helps all of us. Cars are amazing tools that offer us many great benefits. As we continue to overcome the dangers associated with them, we will be able to move forward with a very bright future.