In our hands

We all appreciate the utility modern vehicles provide us, whether it’s needing a quick ride to work, a grocery run, or visiting your family over the holidays. But do we sometimes tend to forget the power we are controlling? What happens when we forget that we are in control of a 3000+ pound ground missile? Is it fair to say that when we are behind the wheel, our life and those accompanying us are “in our hands”? I would wager yes, and I also wonder at the impact thinking this way would have on individuals in the world we live.

Looking back on my personal experience I believe a large portion of accidents stem from downplaying a situation someone is placed in, for example, I have a little brother who enjoys football very much but must stop his games when a thunderstorm begins. My little brother, however, loves playing in the rain and would continue his games if he could. In this example, my little brother either hasn’t acknowledged yet, or has forgotten the danger of lightning. As a result, he has downplayed his situation and if he decides to continue playing during a storm, he puts himself at great risk of a lightning strike. When we are in control of a vehicle, we can sometimes forget the danger of traveling at 35 to 60, 70, or 80+ miles per hour. “It’s our daily routine”, “we do it all the time”, “so why would it be dangerous?”, we tell ourselves. So many lives are lost on the road that may have been avoided if people took time to be aware. By building up respect towards driving we can help people realize that they’re not just holding onto a steering wheel, but onto their life.

Driver education is where we can plant the seed towards a safer driving environment. By taking steps early on by focusing on prevention and caring for the driver while they’re on the road, we can encourage people to respect the importance of safe driving.

I’m grateful for the importance of driver education in my life. It has taught me to be a better defensive driver and to focus on the dangers I come across on the road. Taking the time to learn in class and on driving ranges gave us the experience we needed and knowledge to stay safe. What I found most admirable about driving education was that everyone shared the same consensus that it was important to be safe on the road. I have seen and unfortunately been in the passenger seat of those who think it’s fun to drive crazy. Trying to get a thrill, or be somebody cool, especially when either I or a good friend could have been seriously injured scared me. Although I was the passenger of dangerous driving, those people were still important to me. I’ve done my best to set an example by driving responsibly, following rules, and always requiring everyone in my vehicle to be buckled up or I don’t start the car and I’m happy to report that I’ve seen positive change in the friends around me. Addressing the problem of road safety is an individual matter and trying to serve and protect the driver in simple and sincere ways has provided great success. One of those ways I think would be to change the drivers environment.

One of the steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving I believe are signs and messages along our paths to help us remember to be safe. This may include impactful analytics while showing care about their safety, a simple quote or statement to “stay safe”, a small and simple message that prompts us to realize the importance of what we’re doing while driving. The Goal is to increase the driver’s environment with ways to remember the importance of driving.

I also think it’s important to follow through with promptings to stay safe and I would argue that many other people want to do the same. What prevents us from doing this is forgetting those promptings and brushing them off when those could be feelings that save your life.

I have seen the lives of people derailed because of forgetting what’s important regarding driving, education, and even spirituality. In our day, we are faced by many distractions whether it’s our phones, neglectful living, or personal struggles. During my education I’ve witnessed students that have forgotten or don’t know why they are in school. I’m grateful for the insight my family and friends have given me towards education. I have received much joy by being capable of serving others because of my knowledge and those feelings are very precious to me. However, to some, they didn’t have the drive to continue their education and school became a wall to them instead of a launching point. In other words, their education “crashed”, and they lost their focus. What we need more than anything is to remember what is important and when we are driving, it’s to remember to stay focused. Providing ways to remember along our path could possibly help us tremendously.

I recognize the complexity of this problem and I hope to be a part of tackling it. Recognizing the importance of driving safely is crucial to help individuals grow their awareness and can be done by helping change the environment of the driver. This can be done possibly through campaigns to put up simple messages, signs, and analytics to remind us of the powerful machine we are controlling. We need to remember that it’s not just a wheel in our hands, but our lives.