You live and you learn

On
August 13,2018, was the first time I was driving by myself from
school and I ended up in a car accident that totalled my Taurus. I
remember stepping on the brakes and mentally bracing myself for
impact, and as I slowly opened my eyes I was afraid for my life. The
front of my car looked like a crumpled up piece of paper with smoke
coming out of it.I immediately jumped out of the car and called 911.
After that experience I still find myself being extra cautious of
side streets, and it took time for me to heal physically and
mentally. From that experience I learned that as much as you want to
believe that people are driving correctly for everyone’s safety
that is just not the truth. People drive selfishly and they don’t
notice anyone else until they become an inconvenience to them.

The
selfish mentality of drivers would be reduced if they were properly
informed of how everybodies actions on the road is connected to one
another.
Even though you may be the person running the red light you are not
the only one who is affected by those actions. The Rocky Mountain
Insurance Information Association found in 2018 that About half of
the deaths resulting from red-light running each year are pedestrians
and occupants of other vehicles who are hit. What’s sad is that
speeding(unless you are going on a long distance trip) never saves
anybody enough significant time to where it is worth all the risk.
Lifehacker has proven that the
higher the speed limit is already, the less time you save by
exceeding it, not more. This might seem counter intuitive. However,
the faster you’re traveling to start with, the more you have to
exceed the speed limit to achieve the same proportionate increase. If
the speed limit is 35 mph and you’re going 45 mph, you’re traveling
nearly 30% faster than the speed limit. If the speed limit is 65 mph
and you’re going 75 mph, that’s only about a 15% increase.

To
reduce the number of deaths by automobile accidents the public has to
work together by being informed and accountable. Three ways society
can achieve this goal is by having speed monitors, a different set of
consequences, and to make drivers ed class required for highschool
students.Moreover, if speed monitors were kept at every major
accident hotspot in the city 10 miles away from the speed limit
signs, it would be a good reminder for people to check how fast they
are actually going. This way they have some form of accountability
while they are on the move. Another way is to make anyone who has
caused an accident or has gotten a speeding ticket more than two
times take a driving assessment test every 6 months. I believe it is
very easy for people to pay money for their mistakes and the thing
that really hurts them is spending their time. Time is very valuable
to a human being and to have them sacrifice their time to take a test
would make anybody want to be a better driver.Lastly, the cause of
some car accidents could just be from sheer ignorance. Driving rules
and regulations can change and for some drivers involved in these
accidents are teenagers. So instead of having drivers ed as just an
elected it should be a requirement just like health class. Because
safe driving is becoming a big part in our health and safety.

Now
as for me,I
can keep myself accountable for the mistakes I do on the rode as
well. I have to remind myself that while I am driving my full
attention needs to be on the rode. Not what am I going to eat?Who
just text me?Why are those people carrying that box of paper on the
street? Or even how fast can I get home?Not only that but whenever I
sit in the driver’s seat my body needs to be acting right as well. I
need to be aware if I am sleepy, intoxicated, or even anxious because
those are things that can cause an accident as well. When it comes to
my family and friends it really simple in that I need to speak up if
I see them doing something wrong and so should you, because any and
everything can happen all at once when you are driving and the best
way to avoid such a situation is to prepare for it by following the
rules.