Better Left Unread than Dead

Within every minute fourteen car crashes will occur. Every day close to one hundred and eighteen lives are taken from accidents. Accidents that could have easily been avoided.  These causalities are caused by distracted driving. But how can we make a difference? How can one person’s actions affect the lives of everyone? How can we change to protect the lives of one hundred and eighteen people?  Reckless driving is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, causing over forty thousand fatalities a year. Many people are aware of this, yet over a hundred people still died today due to distracted driving. 

One of the first steps to receiving your license is going through a course that takes all of eight hours to complete. Eight hours to explain how your decision while driving could completely wreck the lives of everyone else. When we get behind the wheel and participate in careless driving, not only are we putting our lives at stake, but we are also risking the lives of our passengers, other drivers, and pedestrians. From my perspective, driver’s education needs to be a bigger priority in the lives of my peers. One course should not be enough. I feel like all student drivers should be required to take a longer course on safe driving. It really surprises me that many schools do not offer a driving course for their students. If there were more courses made available for students, the roads could be much safer. A lot of driving schools charge hundreds of dollars for a few lessons. Hundreds of dollars someone may not have. If students were provided with more resources to further their knowledge when it comes to driving, at a more affordable rate, the roads could be a much safer place.

I feel like having more in-depth driving education courses could strongly benefit drivers in the United States. Everyone knows the importance of not drinking and driving. But not everyone knows how to stop friends from getting in the car while they are intoxicated. There is more to driving than just knowing the rules of the road. It is important to always watch the road and to expect the unexpected. Mistakes do happen, and it is important for us to be prepared for these mistakes. If we are distracted while driving, we are not able to react properly until it is too late. It may seem okay to take your eyes off the road for one second to read a text, but that one second can have grave consequences. But what else can we do to prevent these grave consequences?

Reducing the number of distractions is vital when it comes to making the roads safer. Some distractions that may occur while driving include focusing on our passengers, using navigation, eating, drinking, and using cell phones.  It is very important for the passenger to always be respectful of the driver. It is not fair to the driver if the passenger is singing lyrics at the top of their lungs to a song, or constantly showing them their phone. By taking the drivers’ attention away from the road they are putting everyone who is in the vehicle at risk. Another distraction that occurs while driving is using our phones to navigate. When we use technology to help us navigate it is possible to pay more attention to the map than what is going on around us. This is why having someone else in the car directing you could be helpful. Or by having a stand on the car’s dashboard to make it easier to see both the directions and the road simultaneously. As for food and drinks, wait until you are at your destination or at a stop light. Taking one or both of your hands off the wheel in order to have a snack is not worth risking getting into an accident. Finally, when driving we should put our phones on, do not disturb or driving mode. A text or phone call can wait a few minutes until you are no longer driving. Even if it is a family emergency, your safety, and the safety of those around should be your priority. If you notice you received a text message or missed a phone call that seems important, pull over before answering.

Other ways drivers can cause dangerous situations is by driving in the wrong state of mind. This includes driving under the influence, while they are upset, or when they are too tired. While driving it is important to be alert and responsive. Substances such as alcohol and drugs take alter your brain, making it hard to concentrate on the task ahead of you. It is estimated that thirty one percent of accidents are caused by the misuse of alcohol or drugs. Emotions also affect our attention while driving. If you are upset, you should not be driving. Take a few minutes to collect yourself. If you are upset and absolutely need to leave, walk for a few minutes, and call someone to pick you up. The same thing if you are tired. Driving while sleep deprived will cause our reaction time to be slower resulting in more accidents.

Thankfully, I have never had to experience the pain of losing someone in a car accident. But many people have. When I was at a leadership program known as S4TL this summer, I had the opportunity to hear from Cara Filler. She spoke with the whole group on the importance of safe driving. She lost her twin sister as a teenager due to careless driving and has now made it her mission to speak up, that way no one has to experience the same kind of loss as hers. When car crashes do occur and there are fatalities, the victims’ families are deeply impacted, but we never really think about their lives. She also spoke up about how to be the voice, and how to stop others from putting themselves, and others, in an unsafe position. She mentioned how to use the three P’s to keep yourself safe if you ever find yourself in a car with someone who is not driving safely. Those three P’s included pretending like you are about to pee, puke, and for the ladies about to start your period. By using the three P’s the driver is more than likely going to be grossed out and pull over. As embarrassing or as gross as it may seem using the three P’s, you could save not just your life, but the life of the driver and bystanders. 

I plan to continue to speak up about the importance of safe driving. By being there for my friends if they ever need me to pick them up, or by taking their keys if they are not in the right state of mind to drive. Small things like that can make a huge difference. I will also continue to make sure I am always prepared and paying attention to my surroundings when I step behind the wheel. By helping others navigate while driving, and being a respectful passenger, we can help reduce the number of fatalities due to distracted driving. 

In the time I have taken to write about distracted driving, it is possible that over two thousand one hundred accidents have occurred. There are so many people going through the greatest grief right now. All this pain and suffering could have easily been avoided. It only takes one person to save lives. If you are ever in a car with someone who is driving foolishly, don’t be afraid to stand up.  You are now the voice that can save lives.