Saving Lives, Driving Safe

Most teenage kids can’t wait to jump behind the wheel. Driving opens up a brand new world for them, allowing them to go anywhere, and do anything without the constraints of their parents. What not enough of those kids consider when they jump behind the wheel is that they are putting themselves and others in great danger. Don’t get me wrong, I was that kid too and I love the freedom of driving, but it is extremely important that people do it the right way to ensure everyone’s safety. We think of driving as a normal everyday occurrence this day in age, and some people get complacent, thinking just because they haven’t got in an accident yet it means that they won’t.

When you drive unsafely, you not only are putting your own life in danger, but the lives of others. Not only are you putting their lives in danger but the well being of the people who love them. As a young driver I made mistakes. Not paying attention, I drove past a big yellow school bus stopped at a stop picking up kids. As stupid as it seems to drive past a gigantic yellow machine covered in flashing lights, without realizing it, I did that. However this experience changed me as a driver completely. After this incident I went to a class on safe driving, where the instructor was a woman who lost her beloved son in a car accident that wasn’t his fault. Seeing how the unsafe driving of another human being affected a loving mother, and thinking about how often that kind of thing happens throughout the entire country, every single day I decided I was going to make a conscious effort to be a safer driver. I thought to myself, what would have happened if I wasn’t paying attention and had hit someone taking their life away from them and I couldn’t live with that.

Death is something that is hard, and that we have to deal with, but accidental deaths no one wants to go through or see their loved ones go through. According to the CDC road traffic crashes are the number one cause of death in the United States for people aged 1-54, and the leading cause of non natural death for US citizens. Thinking about the worst wars, scenes of carnage, in the history of the human race, Vietnam, Afghanistan, World War I and II, it is insane to think that more people have died from car accidents in just a few years in just our country alone. Over 40,000 deaths in a year from the same thing, and the majority of this coming from something as simple as being distracted.

The first step to stop unsafe and distracted driving is more driver education. Instead of just focusing on simply passing your permit and driver’s test, people should focus on actually educating themselves in ways to drive safer and with awareness. I believe driver’s education should be implemented more in schools, possibly even made a required class in the curriculum of high school students and even younger grades. Schools are there to educate us and make us better people, so what better way to teach us, than educating our students on safe driving strategies and driving it into their brains from a young age. There are so many classes that people will never use in schools, but almost everyone could benefit from a driver’s education class.

So far in life I have been one of the lucky ones to have never been in an accident, but I don’t need an accident to recognize the importance of driving safely. When you’re in the driver’s seat safety should be first overall. Be aware of your surroundings, pay attention to every detail with your eyes on the road. Don’t depend on other drivers to be the safe ones and get out of your way. Instead expect them not to and expect them to be unsafe so that you can be prepared. Consciously monitor your speed, and make sure you are far enough behind the car in front of you to safely stop if you suddenly have to. Most importantly cut out your distractions and do not drive impaired. Put your phone where you can’t reach it, the text messages can wait till later. Most obviously do not ever drive under the influence. The bottom line is safety should always come first behind the wheel.

I understand why people drive unsafely. Maybe they are late to something important and they think speeding will help them make it . Maybe the text message is from someone they love and it is extremely important. Even then it has to wait. It’s not going to matter when you are severely injured, and it is absolutely not going to matter when you are dead. The amount of deaths humans could save simply by driving safely is unimaginable, but it is achievable and it is important. Drive Safe!