Steps To Be Safe Young Drivers

Unfortunately, I have experienced being in not only one car accident but two. Both were not my fault but there were things I could have done to have possibly prevented the accidents. The first accident happened when someone cut me off merging onto the highway. I did not want to hit them so I pressed on the brakes but the truck behind me was following a little too close and ended up hitting me. The force from the truck pushed me into the car in front of me, the one who cut me off. It was a very scary experience because my sister was also in the car and our parents were out of town that weekend. This was my first car accident I’ve ever experienced and I was very overwhelmed. Luckily my uncle was able to make his way to us and everything got sorted out. In this instance I feel I did nothing wrong in the way I was driving and was just unlucky. The second accident I experienced I know I could have done some things better. The accident also happened on the highway but on a main stretch of highway. There was traffic but it was moving pretty consistently. As I was following a car, the car braked and I was following slightly too close which caused me to push on the brakes a little harder. However, I came to a safe stop on the highway and the two cars behind me did not. The car directly behind me slammed into me and the third car slammed into them which caused my car to move further forward. Luckily no one was hurt but I know now I could have made smarter decisions in how I was driving. Both of these experiences have made me a much safer driver. Car accidents are terrible but I chose to look at these accidents as learning opportunities and rather beat myself up over what I should have done, I used it to learn.

Car crashes happen everyday and it is important to educate young drivers about the dangers of driving while distracted as well as all the other dangers that come with driving. According to the CDC, 9% of drivers age 15-20 partook in distracted driving which caused fatal crashes (Distracted Driving | Transportation Safety | Injury Center | CDC). Teenagers are under the impression that they are invincible no matter what anyone tells them. This is seen in that most teenagers text and drive without any care for what could happen. In a survey done by the CDC, 60% of teens 18 and older admit to using their phone while driving compared to the 16% of teens 15 or 16 years old (Sleight). Younger drivers, such as 15 and 16 year olds, are just learning and usually have a parent in the car who will tell them not to use their phone while driving. It is understandable that this age group has a lower percentage of texting while driving versus the 18 and older age group who have no one in the car with them. That age group believes that they are well versed in driving even though they have only been driving for a few years. It is important to remind these teenagers that they have been driving for only a couple of years. They do not have the experience an adult does behind the wheel and that experience may prevent an accident.

It is inevitable that young people will text when they are behind the wheel of a car but there are still ways to ensure their safety and that of those around them. Encouraging people to only look at their phone when they are at a stop light or when there is dead stop traffic is one way to prevent accidents as well as holding your peers accountable. All it takes is asking the driver to put it down why their foot is on the gas. Holding each other accountable would be an incredible way to lower the amount of teenagers texting and driving.

More things to keep drivers safe are wearing seatbelts, using turn signals, and being aware of their surroundings. One thing that may not seem very important is wearing a seatbelt while driving. I know from personal experience if I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt in both accidents I would have hit my head extremely hard on the steering wheel. I have a history of concussions and any more damage to my head would have been terrible for my brain. Using turn signals is also a very important thing to use when driving. It is the only indicator to others on the road to what the driver is doing and without turn signals lots of accidents can happen. Using turn signals is one of the easiest steps you can take to ensure safe driving. Being aware of their surroundings is very important as well. Constantly scanning the road and using mirrors will ensure that drivers see anything coming up. This will give them enough time to prepare for that obstacle ahead.

Teaching others to be safe drivers is imperative to make sure the road is safe for everyone involved. Some things people can do to teach others to be safe is being a role model, speaking up, and educating others. Being a role model is very important because if there are young children in the car they are easily influenced by what they see. If children see someone being safe, using turn signals, following at a safe distance, etc., they will be more inclined to do that when they are driving. Speaking up is also a big role in ensuring driver safety. It only takes a couple words to express how someone is feeling and those words should have an influence on the driver. If the passenger is uncomfortable with something the driver is doing they must speak up so the driver can change that behavior. Educating others can ensure safer drivers as well. Constantly telling drivers about the safety precautions they should take will make them actually take those precautions. Repetition is very important and drivers must constantly hear these safety warnings so they can be safe drivers.

Works Cited

Distracted Driving | Transportation Safety | Injury Center | CDC. www.cdc.gov/transportationsafety/distracted_driving/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/index.html.

Sleight, Mandy. “Texting and Driving Statistics 2022.” Bankrate, 21 Dec. 2022, www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/texting-and-driving-statistics.