How to Prevent Car Accidents

Practicing Safe Driving:

How to Prevent Accidents on America's Roads

In 2006 alone, the total number of automobiles registered with the U.S. Bureau of Transit topped 135.3 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). With the amount drivers on the road, one must question the protection a driver gives and receives while driving. Advancements in technology and increasing time constraints are grounds for the escalating concern of distractions. These same time constraints are having commuters get a lesser amount of sleep before driving, risking driver fatigue. Finally, a quantity of people are not looking at certain areas of the road or in their mirrors. It appears that the least essential worry drivers consider during their commute is driving. When on the road, drivers must ignore outside factors and make more alert driving their only priority in order to not only protect their well-being, but other drivers' and passengers' also.

Using cell phones, media players, and doing other non-driving related tasks are among top distractions one commits while operating a vehicle. Mark Edwards states that distractions are the number one cause for automobile accidents, with about 25 to 50% of accidents are caused by (SmartMotorist, n.d.). The government has attempted to heed driver distractions with the ban of hand held cell phone use, but the responsibility truly lays in each drivers' hands. The obvious answer is to put everything down and look at the road, however, another solution could be to train oneself to multitask better. For those who seem unconcerned with the risk better knowing that an in-car driving coach is being developed at the University of Washington may be enticing. An electronic device monitors eye movements, reminding drivers to keep their eyes on the road, while listing what drivers did correctly and incorrectly. The results showed that the drivers were able to train their eyes to get a better reaction time (Public Health, 2010).

Driver fatigue is the number two cause of automobile accidents in the United States according to Edwards, resulting in nearly 100,000 accidents per year in the United States. Driver fatigue is so dangerous that it is often compared to drunk driving (SmartMotorist.com, n.d.). The Motor Accident Authority encourages one to take a break from driving every two hours if on a longer trip and whenever possible, drivers should share operating responsibilities. A person should be certain to acquire a good night of sleep before operating any vehicle. If not possible, they should pull over when feeling drowsy (SmartMotorist.com, n.d.). A New Zealand study found that taking a nap for twenty minutes could greatly improve energy levels, driving skills, and alertness (SmartMotorist.com, n.d.).

A third driving safety issue is the lack in the use of mirrors. Different cars have different blind spots, but blind spots can be made safe through the use of mirrors or checking blind spots physically. Not checking blind spots before changing lanes causes thousands of accidents a year (Pardilla, 2009). One should adjust their mirrors before driving, look directly in the mirrors, or look in blind spots before changing lanes. This will allow one to avoid hitting another car or a pedestrian.