Driving reason and safety.

6 months ago my friend was driving home from a friends hous, I was behind him, in his 80’s mustang he got for under 3,000 dollars on craigslist. He took a turn too fast, went over the median, and flipped. The crash, damages to property, and harm to himself were all preventable.

The biggest safety procedure is being reasonable, and smart.

As safety technology gets newer, it becomes mandated to implement it in production cars. Older cars however are grandfathered in, meaning that they can lack crucial safety features in some parts. His mustang lacked crumple zones and stiffer body cages meant to withstand a crash of that magnitude. His lack of reasonability with the car was him taking a residential corner too fast, and his lack of smarts was him not considering his tires were completely worn and the suspension of the car was shot. This put him in danger, others’ property, and could have possibly put a person in danger other than him.

I had always heard friends saying “Oh, my mom got into a car crash… she’s okay though.” It’s realistically not okay. Damages can not only put people in physical harm but just as importantly can put people into financial trouble if their insurance doesn’t cover them or if they can’t afford the residual. This, ontop of the countless deaths (over 20,000 just in 2022!) should be a strong enough argument to present to anyone in persuasion to drive safer and more attentive.

Additionally, most accidents are by teenagers due to their reckless driving. One reasonably should put their phone in their glovebox or keep it in their pocket, yet my friends must send a text message behind the wheel of a metal cannonball. This makes me very uneasy, and since I have not driven with friends. Others around school often think that drunk driving is a point of humor. For example, last week, I overheard “god gives his worst pedestrians to his drunkest drivers.” This appalling behavior behind driving and how people treat it can ruin lives.

New cars can seem to be counterproductive in safety despite state-of-the-art safety systems. This is due to all the technology being added which requires you to look at the tablet mounted on your car to change a song or even to turn on the headlights in some cars. I believe strongly that within the coming years with electric vehicles and developing electric programs in cars, there should be a law put into place which requires manufacturers to make electronics inaccessible during driving periods. It is the same as being on your phone or texting a friend. Until then, more emphasis should be put on the importance of safety during driving instructure with the electronic infotainment systems that cars have.

My friend ended up doing alright, but he was lucky. His car lacked safety features new cars have when in crashes. All machines, whether it be a grill, forklifts, or vehicles can cause serious harm or death. The best way to prevent injury is easier said than done though. My “get home safe” that I told him before we left my friend’s house clearly didn’t have an impact on him, nor did his car lack an infotainment system. Many people, if not most, fault in driving crashes with their lack of reasonability and smarts which put jeopardize them and others.

Precisely because of this I have sent emails to dozens of state officials and warned my friends to do basic maintenance on their cars. When I drive I always use my signal and look ahead, and I dont use cruise control in my car as it makes me feel not in control. Other cars around me must notice and appreciate when I use my signal and drive safely, as I appreciate when others do that on the road. It prevents crashes and financials for my car that I cannot afford. My car doesn’t have a modern infotainment system either, so the silver lining is that on my 5-minute drive to the store or half an hour drive to school, I dont put anyone in danger. Keeping good maintenance of any machine is a good habit and reinforces being smart and reasonable with what you do. For my friend that night, he maybe would not have caused so much harm to himself if he had checked his tires or more reasonably, not have been reckless.

I would be very appreciative of this scholarship, as my 74-year-old father’s financials (no mother to help) are thin.