Staying Safe on the Road

Staying
Safe on the Road

Lana
Del Rey’s dreamy voice calmly sang out of the stereo, somehow
sounding displaced in a distant, hazy tunnel. Shocked, I came to my
senses, noticing dreary, gray smoke beginning to fill the cabin. I
reached for my, still intact, phone on the dashboard with
blood-spattered fingers and stumbled out of the car with my ears
ringing loudly. From the people rushing to help and the ambulance
ride, the rest of the day quickly passed. Luckily, I only experienced
a strong nosebleed, a couple of bruises, and a totaled car.
Tragically, many others suffer far worse accidents leaving behind
devastated families and friends, all because of irresponsible
driving.

Many
of the accidents that occur daily could be prevented by taking
certain precautions. Distracted driving is rapidly becoming a
dangerous epidemic with all of the available technology. Fortunately,
different solutions are available like making it a habit to put your
phone on “do not disturb” or switching to insurance that saves
money depending on your phone use while behind the wheel. Important
tasks, namely answering your wife’s text, finishing your donut,
setting up the directions on Google Maps, or creating a designated
driving playlist on Spotify, can also all be completed before turning
the car key.

Personally,
I have challenged myself to improve my driving behavior. I had
crashed because of recklessness, idiotically attempting to pass
slower cars, not noticing the lane was ending, before slamming into a
pole. The first step is making a conscience effort to employ a more
defensive approach while behind the wheel and being attentive to
small details. At the end of the day, it truly doesn’t matter
whether I save 45 seconds hastily getting ahead of that one unhurried
driver. What’s truly important is getting to a destination safely
while following rules and being an example to others on the road or
in the passenger seat.

One
major area that could initiate rapid improvement preventing deaths
caused by vehicle accidents is utilizing the American educational
system. Making Drivers ed mandatory to graduate high school
would help educate young adults on how to behave properly behind the
wheel. Many parents are assuming the positon of this important job,
passing down their positive and negative habits and examples down to
the next generation. Making the courses more rigorous and taught by
licensed teachers would instill good conduct within students,
influencing more to wear their seatbelts, put away distractions, and
be attentive drivers.

I
have also experienced how easy to get passive about your driving
abilities, getting stuck in a rut of repetitive actions and mindset.
Unfortunately, many of the common drivers on the road haven’t had a
test about road regulations in over ten years. Making periodic
driving tests per age or experience would motivate people to stay
updated and diligent about improving their behavior.

Many
lives are being tragically cut short due to careless and inattentive
driving. Due to my past mistakes, I am continuing to learn about the
value of developing good habits and making an effort to improve your
abilities on the road. We all must take the initiative to remove
distractions, continually educate ourselves, and be an example to the
people around us.