Safer driving falls to us
Recent news reports tell the story of school children and emergency responders killed in horrific and preventable crashes. Oklahoma has seen several school bus crashes this fall, thankfully without major injury or deaths.
Should students riding to school and emergency responders helping those in need fear greater danger on our roads with each passing day? Have distracted, impaired and unsafe driving risen to the level that we can finally call this the epidemic that it is? If not, what will it take?
The world we live in is challenging enough, with many things simply out of our control. However, driving is one place where we can and should be absolutely in control and part of the safety solution. Each of us has the responsibility to ourselves, our families and friends and every person around us to be a safe and courteous driver.
Year after year, surveys by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety find that an attitude of “do as I say, not as I do” persists among motorists, many of whom admit to engaging in the same dangerous behaviors that they criticize as being “unacceptable.” All of the statistics, all of the calls for change from transportation safety advocates and victim impact groups won’t save a single life or prevent a single crash if nobody takes action to change their behaviors.
It will take every individual driver making the conscious decision to be laser focused on safe driving. It also will take every passenger in a vehicle holding the driver accountable for safe driving practices. Together, one by one, we can make our roads safer and restore the freedom and security we and our loved ones should have in our daily travels.
Please make the decision to put safety first every time you get behind the wheel.
Gamble is manager of public and government affairs for AAA Oklahoma.