A New Driver’s Guide of Defensive Driving

As someone who is currently taking driving lessons for her upcoming road test, the importance of driver education becomes clearer to me each time behind the wheel. Knowing who to give the right-of-way to, being aware of speed limits in posted areas, and using turn signals correctly can make all the difference when driving. From my two months of driving experience, I have seen so many cases that show that every move made by other drivers and every action made by pedestrians is entirely dependent on you as a driver. Your speed will influence other drivers’ speed as they will make decisions to either speed up and pass you or follow safely behind you. Your turn signals will not only signal other drivers of what is going on in your head but to pedestrians in a crosswalk to be prepared if you cut them off while turning when they have the right-of-way or if you will slow down and let them cross. Though, the sad reality of the situation is that everyone’s health and safety is reliant on each other and all it takes is one person who lacks a proper driver education to put that all at risk.

Based on the type of driving that I’ve seen in my city, there a quite a few steps that can be taken to reduce the number of driving deaths. First step: turn down the music! Have you ever heard a car coming from a mile away because their music is just that loud and then when they come closer to you the bass of the music is physically vibrating your car? The volume of the music is taking away from one of drivers’ most important senses when on the road: hearing. How can you hear when other drivers are trying to get your attention when blowing their horns? Or what if you’re just really into the music and now your head is in a different space? Your awareness is dimmed and can cause an accident for yourself and others, depending on if other drivers take action to get away from you and your loud music. I promise you that no amount of Bad Bunny is worth your life. Turn the music down. The second step: stop being so hasty with yellow lights. An obvious yet important thing to remember is that when a yellow light appears you will be at a red light either way, whether you ran past the previous yellow or not. There should be no rush to get to a red light. Safely slow down as you are supposed to instead of feeling like ‘you can make it’. The third step: stop tailgating. My mom was actually in a situation like this before when she ran a red light and when I asked her why when the light was red about twenty feet before she got to it, she told me that she had to go or the guy behind her was going to run into her car if she stopped. I looked in her rearview mirror and she was right, that guy was practically on her bumper and caused her to make a decision in her driving that could have made her get into an accident trying to avoid him. An irresponsible action was made by a driver that put my and my mother’s life at risk and could have been avoided if he just kept a safe distance or utilized the three-second rule. My fourth step is to drive the same way you do at night as you would in the day. Night driving is one of the scariest aspects for me as a new driver because everyone seems to drive more recklessly at night. I know the temptation of a completely open road may cause people to speed up and be less aware of their surroundings as there are fewer people about, but the same rules should apply. There could be a pedestrian that decided to cross, also taking advantage of the fact that there are fewer cars at night and walked out onto the street. Due to whatever high speed that driver is going and the darkness of the area, they might not react in time to avoid the pedestrian. Think to yourself, if you can make it to your destination in a reasonable amount of time in the daytime, there is no need to speed up at night when just as many unexpected events can occur.

My mom, who has been driving for over twenty years was in her first car accident last month. The culprit? A seventeen-year-old driver who was going 40 mph down a residential area and only got his car three months ago. I, along with everyone else in the neighborhood, heard a loud skid and then a crash. The first thing I did was call my mother because I was aware that she had not left the house that long ago to hang out with friends. She answered immediately, which was a sign she wasn’t hurt, but she sounded rightfully angry. The other driver wasn’t hurt either and they both were able to move their cars so as to not block the street. Though due to the fact that my mom was pulling out of the driveway, the accident looks more like her fault, but based on our neighbors and the camera footage, there was no way my mom could have seen him before she pulled out based on how fast the teen was going. According to our neighbors, this teen had a really bad habit of speeding up and down our dead-end block and always said that one day it was going to catch up to him. It did, and my mom had to pay for it, literally. It also didn’t help that we were in the process of moving at the time so she didn’t have the money to spar to fix her front bumper. This goes to show how the reckless actions of a driver not practicing defensive driving methods affected not only them but another driver on the road.

As a new driver, the steps I have already been taking to become a safe driver is to not worry about anyone else on the road. That doesn’t mean not being aware of them and their actions, but sometimes I am so focused on a driver in front of or behind me that it starts to affect my own driving. I’m going to have to have a little faith in the driving experience of others and trust they know what they are doing. Also as a new driver, I’m going to have to accept that there will be people who are impatient with me, but if I start driving according to how they want me to drive, I’ll cause an accident most likely due to nerves or inexperience. Another step I can take is to remember that some parts of driving are not obligations. I am not obligated to turn at a red light even though I could and I am not obligated to go more than 25mph if that is what is posted on the speed limit sign. I can go at my own pace if that is what I desire and other drivers have the option to go around me more often than not. My final step for myself is to remember that other drivers are not in my position in the car. They can’t see in front of me or know my amount of driving experience so they won’t have many ways of knowing if whatever driving action I’m taking is for my own best safety, theirs, or someone else’s. Right now as a new driver, I need to focus on my own actions and build up confidence before I start accommodating other road users.