Name: Ahzaun Booker
From: Arlington , Texas
Votes: 0
As an 18-year-old, it has not been that long since I took Driver
Education. I can honestly say that Driver Ed classes are a blur to
me. When it was time for me to take my Driver Ed class I was more
concerned about the driving part than the other stuff that was being
said. I felt as thought my parents gave me a good amount of
information about rules of the road prior to starting the class. It
wasn’t until actually driving by myself did I truly understand why
those rules were so important. When I got my first ticket, is when I
realized that I didn’t know the law like I thought I did. Driver
education is very important, because knowing how to drive defensively
and understanding the rules of the road can prevent accidents. Safe
driving is important, and lifesaving, but it can also help avoid
traffic tickets and fines, which can also keep your insurance policy
cost down. We can’t talk about driver safety without talking about
teen and young adult drivers. This group (in which I am a part of),
also has added pressures, peer pressure. Peer pressure can cause
young and inexperienced drivers to take unnecessary risks, like
driving too fast, listening to music loudly, texting while driving,
having to many passengers in the car and not wearing seatbelts.
Understanding the rules of the road can help get people get to their
destinations safely and without incidents, which could lead to
reducing the number of deaths.
Focusing on and removing as many distractions as possible is a way
that help reduce the number of accidents and death related accidents
on the road. A distracted driver is a dangerous driver. Now the
above statement is an easy statement to make, and a difficult one to
solve. In this day and age, we are bombarded with distractions every
second on the day. From our phones giving us alerts, the latest
tweets, to updated Instagram and snap stories. Phone calls from
family, friends and telemarketers, to Seri giving directions via blue
tooth in the car. Which can lead to having you take a right turn
while you are in the left lane at the last minute. Let’s also talk
about the distractions outside of the car, like road construction,
other divers, and bulletin boards. It has always baffled me that
there are so many campaigns about no texting and driving but giant
billboards are just as distracting with advertisements, having you
read about the latest sale, or new fast food item. Now I do
understand that it is not the same and the billboard is way bigger,
but a distraction is a distraction. The biggest distraction that
people don’t talk about and is almost impossible to remove is
internal thoughts. To be honest sometimes I do my best thinking in
the car, all by myself, thinking about what I need to do, my schedule
for the day, assignments that are due, my girlfriend, my friends. To
me that is the biggest distraction, so how do we turn that part of
our brain off to drive?
I recently was involved in an accident, it was my first really bad
accident and it has affected me deeply. I was heading back to my
dorm after a tornado hit the Dallas area. Another storm was
scheduled to hit later that night, so my plan was to get back to my
dorm before that second storm hit. On my way back, almost 20 minutes
from the dorm, it started to rain again. The rain was coming down in
sheets, which made me drive around 30 miles per hour. Looking ahead,
I noticed the cars ahead of me slowing down more and putting their
hazards on. So, I followed suite. I was going about 5 miles per hour
and steadily decreasing, preparing to stop, when I get hit, slammed
into from behind which propels my car into the SUV in front of me.
Now let me explain, I have (had) a 2014 Mazda 3, it was a hatchback
small car. It crumbled when put up against the Black SUV! My car, my
mode of transportation was totaled, my car was the only damaged
(undriveable) vehicle in this wreck. Soon after the accident, the as
I was pinned in my car, waiting for the police to come, the rain
picked up again. I truly believed another tornado was in route due to
the velocity of the winds. I was terrified. The police arrived, along
with my ride in time to get me out of my car and into a dry safer
vehicle. The other cars were able to leave and my car was towed away
for the insurance company to review. I also had to take a trip to
the emergency room to be checked out, luckily enough I had a bad
headache and a bruised wrist. I do believe that the driver that hit
me was distracted, she could not have been paying attention, the cars
ahead of her, including mine were moving so slowly that she could not
have been paying attention to the road. But this is all my opinion as
her statement just said that she could not see and didn’t know we
had slowed down that much.
Due to my accident, I feel as though I have become a more caution
driver. What can we do to be safer drivers? Drive with the purpose of
driving, try to concentrate on the road and the other drivers around
you. Remove distractions, mute your phone alerts, put the text
blocker on, that automatically lets anyone know who texts you, “I
am driving right now cannot text”. Be observant of constructions
work, weather, and other drivers. Be present and focused on the one
task of driving to your destination. It is easy to say and hard to
do, but living a long healthy life is worth the scarifies.
