Gone in Just a Second

I believe that it is important to be as safe and attentive as possible when driving since a small mistake can result in injury or death in a split second. There are several factors that contribute to driver safety: attentiveness, safety devices, and driver education. It is also important to drive defensively to attempt to account for other drivers’ mistakes.

Ever since I started learning how to drive, my mom reminded me that a small mistake can result in a tragedy, and it is important to pay constant attention to the road and to the drivers around me. According to Ronan Glon for DigitalTrends.com (2020), using Apple CarPlay is worse than driving drunk. Use of Android Auto results in a 53% increased reaction time and use of Apple CarPlay results in a 57% reduced reaction time (Glon, 2020). In comparison, reaction time is increased by 12% when a person reaches the legal limit after drinking alcohol (Glon, 2020). Additionally, A distraction, such as texting, takes drivers’ eyes off the road for an average of 5 seconds, which is extremely dangerous, since the average driver’s reaction time is about a second (Glon, 2020; Tholen, 2021).

Furthermore, it is very important to wear safety devices to prevent injury in case of an accident. According to Taylor Covington of TheZebra.com (2022), wearing a seatbelt can reduce accident fatality by 45% and injury by 50%. I have always been taught to always wear my seatbelt, and I always do. I know that an accident can happen anywhere, and a person can be injured even at low speeds. A 100-pound person going 30 mph will produce 3000 pounds of force in a crash (Montana.gov, 2022). This is like falling out of a three-story building (Montana.gov, 2022).

One thing my parents taught me was to avoid highways at times. Sometimes the option is a windy country road, which is not ideal, but other times it is easy to avoid highways by taking back roads. This way, I can avoid an accident at a higher rate of speed. Also, I’m less likely to encounter other drivers who are going at very high rates of speed when driving in a way that avoids highways. Some other things I have learned are to stay staggered; avoid driving right next to people or in their blind spot. Even if I am going to stay in my lane, there is no guarantee that other cars will also stay in their lane. In the case that another car switches lanes without warning and checking their blind spot, it may prevent an accident to avoid being next to the car. Additionally, I always leave a car length for each ten mph I am going to avoid rear-ending someone. Dangerous situations can arise quickly and having a lot of room in front of me will help to avoid a crash in the case that the car in front of me brakes hard, hits another object, or there is an object in the road. This will also allow me to avoid braking hard so that the car behind me doesn’t hit me. Furthermore, I always make sure that the yellow line is on the left – I never want to be going the wrong way on the road. The final thing that I believe is very important is no not over-drive my sight distance. It is important to slow down when going over hills or around turns since I can’t see what is on the other side of the hill/turn.

The last thing that is extremely important regarding preventing car accidents is to not drink and drive. According to MADD (2017), people drink and drive 300,000 times per day, but only 1% of those drivers are arrested. Additionally, over 30% of fatal accidents are caused by drunk drivers (NHTSA, 2022). I don’t like going to big parties or drinking, but if I were to drink in the future, I would be in a place where I could stay for a long time. If someone were out drinking, it is important to have a designated driver, who is not drinking. Furthermore, even if a person is not drinking, it is possible to be killed by another driver who has been drinking, so it is a good strategy to avoid highway driving at night, when most drunk drivers are on the road and may be traveling at a high rate of speed or going the wrong way.

In conclusion, there is not one thing that is most important for staying safe on the road, since any mistake can result in disaster. According to Ashley Halsey III (2019), “more Americans have been killed in car crashes since 2000 than in both World Wars.” Most crashes are caused by distracted drivers, excessive speed, and drunk driving (Halsey, 2019). Sometimes I wonder if driving is worth the risk, but in my community, schools and businesses are not close enough to rely on walking and biking. I wouldn’t mind living somewhere like New York City, where housing and businesses are within walking distance, or public transportation is abundant and available. Until then, I will try my best to be safe on the road.