Ever since I started driving, I could never understand the impatient people honking the second the traffic light turned green or the people who drive into oncoming traffic on a one-way road because doing 50 miles per hour, the speed limit might I add, is just too slow for them. New York roadways are filled with impatient people who always seem to be in a rush and people who are inconsiderate. What if everyone took the time to relax and enjoy the passing scenery? The number of car accidents I have seen, read about, and heard about from people firsthand are enough to scare anyone. What if everyone could just relax?
The other day, I was relaxing after a long morning at work with my boyfriend, watching TV. Out of practically nowhere, we heard this awful bang, and our reaction was to jump up from where we were sitting and look out the window. Seeing a huge cloud of awful white and black smoke, I could see four wheels turning in the air, and a truck on its roof. Immediately, I grabbed my phone and called 911, running outside to make sure whoever was in the car was okay. Giving the dispatcher all of the information, cops, ambulances, and emergency vehicles were at the scene in minutes. The two men in the truck were luckily fine, with no broken bones, and they were able to escape from the overturned vehicle.
Sounds scary and awful, but the driver could have prevented over a dozen 911 calls from anyone who saw what happened, and the accident on a whole. The driver of the work van that wound up on its roof was driving down Nichols Road at a high speed when he realized he was about to miss his exit. A missed exit is not the end of the world—any GPS will recalculate, and there are always roads at the next exit that can get you to your destination. The driver decided at the last second to cut across two lanes at full speed to make his exit, crashed through a guardrail, and landed his truck on its roof. He's lucky did not get hurt, and he is lucky he did not hurt his passenger or another car on the road.
I have heard of people who were not so lucky. One of my good friends lost his girlfriend in a car accident about eight months ago simply because someone was not paying attention to what they were doing and speeding. The whole accident and a death could have been prevented had the driver been paying closer attention to what he was doing and noticed that red lights mean stop. It is the worst thing in the world to hear that someone has been hurt due to a car accident that could have easily been prevented. It just is not fair to the drivers around those who are speeding or simply not paying attention. Drivers are distracted by so much nowadays, between cell phones and working the radio.
I asked some of my friends their opinions on distracted driving. One stated that "driving is scary if the people around you do not follow the rules. There is a law against texting and driving, and one glance down at your phone is seconds that could cause an accident." Another stated that "there is so much to do when your driving—constantly checking your mirrors, checking to make sure there is no one in the middle of the road, and expecting the unexpected from other drivers who are not paying attention themselves. You do not even have the time to check your text messages."
Texting is not the only thing that causes accidents. Simply not paying attention to the road and the drivers around you is enough to cause one. Speeding is another big factor in car accidents. Speed limits exist for a reason. Speeding puts not only you, but the drivers around you in danger. Next time you are behind the wheel of our car, think about not only yourself but the other drivers around you. It can prevent accidents, and save lives.
