Is It in Our Hands or Not?
There are many today who would say we were a nation on the go. At times we are hardly ever home making us feel like we were living out of our cars. But alas, as with any other way of life there is danger that can hardly be predicted. With automobiles this danger is often seen in accidents caused by reckless driving of some form or another. The sad truth is that most are preventable in some way.
The most commonly seen, and most deadly at times, is caused by alcohol consumption. In fact alcohol is considered to be one of the leading killers in the United States. According to statistics compiled by the Department of Transportation�s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there were 17,419 alcohols related deaths in 2002 (only 41% of the total traffic related deaths though). This was brought home to me during my sophomore year of high school when one of our school�s star athletes was killed by a drunk driver right before graduation.
Yet despite this fact, people still tend to get behind the wheel of a car drunk. Can we stop them? Yes, we can! Take a stand, offer to drive if your friend isn�t sober and you are. Call a cab or a friend if you yourself think that your judgment has been impaired. But please, for the sake of your fellow drivers, don�t get behind the wheel drunk. Don�t let yourself or some one you love become another statistic.
While alcohol impairment is the leading cause of deadly accidents, another form that is just as serious is inexperience behind the wheel of a car (aka student drivers). This particular form of reckless driving is near and dear to my heart, in that after only a month on the road, I took a turn too sharp and rammed into a telephone pole.
Now, I think it would be stating the obvious if I told you that the most logical way to prevent this would be to let student drivers gain more experience. But in addition to this, we, their fellow drivers, need to practice more patience on the road. Student drivers are skittish enough without having an impatient driver harping on them for being cautious. I know that I was and still tend to be skittish behind the wheel even today. All drivers should be applying this everyday to begin with. It all comes down to the simple matter of respect!
Other forms of accidents include those caused by negligence, carelessness, or even complete disregarded for the laws of the road. All three of these, while not as frequently seen as alcohol or inexperienced drivers, are just as capable of causing harm.
Most drivers only have incidents like these once and awhile unintentionally, but there are some drivers who continuously practice bad driving habits. The sad reality is that if just one person, a friend, relative, or even a co-worker, had called them on their actions, they may have made an effort to change their ways. I personally have not had to deal with this type of driver. On the other hand I could give you several examples of unintentional accidents. The one I remember best is the time my father ran a red light because he wasn�t watching the road (my brothers were getting rowdy in the back seat). I guess the main moral of this story is that, distractions aside, we need to PAY ATTENTION!!
All in all, it is our responsibility to do what we can to keep safe. If we can do that by preventing future accidents, then it is our duty to do just that.