The Importance of Safe Driving

It was a Saturday afternoon in the summer and we were driving home after picking up our newly adopted kitten. My mother, my three sisters and I were all in our red Nissan Titan riding on the freeway. Everything was fine. Without warning, a Toyota crashed into us from behind. The combination of the force pushing forward and the whiplash of the brakes pushing back, it felt like a rollercoaster coming to an abrupt – and rather painful – halt. It was weeks later when we discovered my mother’s injury from the incident; the collision hit us at such an angle that it fractured some of my mother’s spinal vertebrae. To this day she has been in constant pain and neither medications nor procedures have been able to cure her of her ailment. The incident was nearly 8 years ago.

Although the driver of the Toyota claimed he simply “zoned out,” my mother hypothesized he crashed into us as a result of distracted driving. This could mean many things, to include: texting, chatting on the phone, or just zoning out in general. These forms of carelessness are all a danger to those behind the wheel and everyone they encounter. Based on this conclusion, I have worked tirelessly tuning my driving skills to the best that they can be to ensure that I am never the cause of a tragic accident. With this in mind, some steps and practices I follow and encourage others to implement are: disabling phones while the car is in motion, having a proper understanding of traffic laws/safety, knowing your limits with distractions and adjusting your environment accordingly. I know that I am not perfect. I make a mistake every once in a while, but I am doing my best to not “zone out” while in command of a vehicle. To avoid such situations, I am removing my phone from easily accessible places while driving. Following the earlier stated guidelines, I have learned my limits when it comes to distractions; I know that I cannot focus while listening to music, so I adjust my environment accordingly by not playing music in the first place. I have many friends who are new to driving and I often share my story to encourage them to follow the same guidelines. I believe that following these guidelines will lay the groundwork for much safer driving habits and will save many people from distress and death.

Regarding proper understanding of traffic laws and safety, I believe education is a necessity. According to data from Wikipedia numbering the casualties from the greatest wars in American history, the highest death toll was during World War II – about 291,557 people. This is a rather significant and heartbreaking number compared to the other major wars listed. However, data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states the amount of deaths in more recent years, beginning in 2005 and ending in 2012, due to automobile catastrophes. The lowest number in that time period was approximately 32,000 deaths. Over 30,000 deaths from people just trying to go places. That number exceeds 10% of the total amount of lives lost from the greatest war in US history, just so that we can travel. Studies regarding the effectiveness of Driver’s Education have demonstrated time and time again that experience gained from such courses has saved lives. An article shows the results of a study of 151,800 teenage drivers in Nebraska. It showed that “… the drivers who had taken a driver’s ed course were involved in fewer crashes: 11.1% of the driver’s ed group, as opposed to 12.9% of those who hadn’t taken a course, had been involved in a crash…”. I keep Driver’s Education high on my list of priorities because of the positive effect it can have on those who understand the importance of preserving lives. I have many stories about times Driver’s Ed lessons prevented me from being in a car crash. One experience in particular being when I was on my way home and was caught in rush-hour traffic. I was driving on a road that had a single lane on both sides. A driver was waiting to turn left into my lane. In Driver’s Ed, we were taught to always be watching, keeping an eye on the horizon so that we wouldn’t be surprised by what happens next. This tip came in very handy to me when said driver was too impatient to wait and zoomed out in front of me. Since this was during rush-hour traffic, as soon as the driver got into my lane, he had to slow down significantly. Had I not been paying attention like I had been taught, I definitely would have collided with that other driver, causing who knows what kind of damage. This is only one example of how I have seen that knowledge and practice protect against harm. There are many ways accidents can happen; the trick is being ready to react to unpredictable circumstances. This can be achieved by avoiding being distracted by your environment, removing phones from the equation, being well-versed in traffic laws and safety principles through Driver’s Education, and being familiar enough with yourself to keep you and others safe while traveling on the weather-worn asphalt.