Don’t Die in Your Car

Driving in modern-day traffic has become a scary and dangerous experience. Some people are opting out of ever getting their license because they are so nervous to drive. My brother is an example of one of these people. He has had his permit for 2 years but won’t go get his license because he is scared to get into an accident. Driving today has become more of, “can I avoid being hit” rather than “will I get hit”.

As a student who has been driving on my own for 3 years, I have noticed a lot of things. People don’t know some of the laws regarding driving. While carpooling, I will recognize a mistake by the driver and bring it to their attention. They will argue what they did is correct or allowed. When I look it up, they learn that they did something not only against the rules of driving but dangerous. People are breaking traffic laws they do not know exist or misunderstand. Everyone on the road should know the rules. Driving while not knowing all the rules of the road could cause those who do know them to end up in an accident by those that don’t. I was concerned when I took the written driver’s test. The test did not include even half the laws of driving and if you got some of those questions wrong you could still get your license to drive. Permit license driving is where a licensed parent or adult is in the car but the driving or controlling the car is still an under-educated teenager behind the wheel controlling the car. I believe we need to have a more thorough written driver test. This will increase the need for people to study the driver’s manual better which will hopefully lead to a better understanding and retention of the rules and regulations to driving. I am guilty of not studying a lot myself. I only studied about half the book but was still able to pass my written driver’s test. Because of this, I had to learn some of the laws on the fly. I still am learning laws regarding driving that are not new, I didn’t know or understand. I am always very cautious and aware of the road. If people had to be more educated about the laws on the road before they could drive on their own I believe they would understand the laws making the road a safer place.

I was in a car with my friend when he rear-ended someone, but I have never been in a serious accident myself. I did have a serious accident happen in the lane in front of me. I was in the car with my family about 8 years ago. A red car went flying right into a white SUV stopped in the lane in front of us and never slowed before impact. My mom pulled our car off the road. She told us, “Stay in your seats and stay buckled up!” She then ran out to the cars to help. I, being a curious child at the time, unbuckled and looked at what was happening. The red car was on fire and almost rolled off a bridge. My mom was in the front seat trying to get the driver out. The white car was in the middle of the crossroads and there was a lady taking babies out of the back seat. That lady ended up being the driver and mother of those babies. Others called 911 and then went out to help too. Eventually, the first responders showed up and took my mother’s statement and finally, we were able to leave. The man in the red car may have been on his phone and possibly intoxicated. Since that day, I always watch my rearview mirror from the corner of my eye especially, if I am at a stoplight or stop sign.

To keep accidents like the one I went through from happening to other people there are many steps that can be taken. We can educate drivers more. The more people understand the laws the fewer people will break them. Again, people break laws they don’t even know exist. This puts those who do know about the laws in danger. Another step we can take is more police officers on patrol throughout the day. I notice there are at least twice as many police officers, if not more, out at night during evenings than during the day. Accidents happen in the daylight. People do not just break the law at night. I believe, just the presence of a police officer in the area will keep people from speeding and breaking traffic laws. Another way to reduce accidents is to, as society, commit to staying off our phones while we drive. Distracted driving is a major cause of accidents. Phones aren’t the only culprit of distracted driving, though. Anything you do while driving that isn’t related to driving is distracting. Eating, turning up the volume, grabbing something, or looking at your phone are all examples of distracted driving. Finally, we need to stop drinking and driving. If people didn’t have to pay to get a ride home when they had been drinking, surely more people would take advantage of it. If you know someone who is drinking and they drove themselves, offer to give them a ride. This will keep them from possibly killing themselves or others if they get in an accident.

I will be honest, I am guilty of some of the problems on the road. I didn’t study the whole driver’s manual so I didn’t know all the laws when I first started driving. Since then, I studied the booklet again and learned what I didn’t know to become a more educated and safer driver. Speeding was a big problem I fell into. I really try to watch my speed in town now so I don’t speed. Sometimes, I don’t realize I am, but sometimes I do catch myself. I like to go fast so I would do it in town with cars around me. Now, if I want to go fast I will go out of town where there are no cars so I don’t put anyone else in danger. My phone has been and still is, my biggest problem. I will forget to do something when I get in the car and will remember while I am driving. My first instinct is to do it right at that moment, so I don’t forget. Now, I will realize and put my phone down. I used to watch videos while I was driving, but now I won’t even finish a text. I have limited my phone use in the car to just at a stoplight and only for a second. I will send a text quickly or see what someone texted me at a red light. That is the extent of my phone usage while driving. Even if the light turns green before I finish the text, I will put it down and finish it later. Since then, I have been forgetting I have a phone while I am driving and won’t get on at all. I have left my phone in my car multiple times because of this.