Getting motivated to drive safe
When we are in a hurry we sometimes drive too fast. If we are feeling tired we may stay on the road even if we shouldn't. There are times in our lives when we are not paying attention, we are talking on the phone, our mind is elsewhere, etc. and yet we still drive. So, how do you get motivated to drive safe? Try the following:
Watch the news. It is amazing how motivating the news can be when you want some motivation to drive more safely. If you watch the news regularly you will see night after night horrific accidents caused by people driving drunk, tired, talking on their cell phones, not wearing seatbelts, have kids out of car seats etc. When you watch those things you always think that you would never do that. Yet, how many times have you tried to eat and drive, or talk and drive, or change the station and drive? So, next time you watch the news think about it as if it were you. Think about how you would feel if it was your child who got hit by a poor driver, or you were the one who hit the pedestrian. Sometimes thinking out scenarios is the best motivator to not let yourself get into those scenarios. So, watch the news, think about what you see and how easily so many of those things could be avoided just by someone taking an active interest in being a safer driver, and then do that in your own life.
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Look at statistics. The statistics of deaths caused by car accidents are astounding. For some reason we all think it will never happen to us, and so it is hard to get motivated to drive safer when it is so convenient to just drive the way we drive, eating, talking, doing make-up, changing the station, sleepy, etc. However, the person who falls asleep at the wheel and rolls their car killing all of their passengers probably did not think they were that tired either. So, let the statistics of how many times unsafe driving causes death, and let that motivate you to quit thinking of yourself as the exception and start recognizing the true danger of driving unsafe.
Visit someone who has been in a bad traffic accident and lived through it. While the above two suggestions are great motivators for getting you to drive more safely, it may not be enough still. Often times things like the news and statistics seem surreal and there is that minute thought that it would never happen to you. So, help these things sink in a little better by visiting someone who has been in a bad traffic accident and lived through it. Their story, their pain, their life will feel more real, and it will help you to see that it is not just something that is on the news, but something that affects your entire life, the life of those around you, etc. That will help motivate you to be safe.
If motivation is not enough, remove temptations. Only keep one CD in your car so you are not tempted to try and find and change CDs while driving. Do not drive to a bar, carpool, take a cab or walk. If you are tired, do not make plans, go to bed, then you won't be out on the road. Eat at work, or skip breakfast. Determine what you unsafe vice is when it comes to driving, whether it is speeding, or putting on mascara, and then determine how to eliminate the temptation, such as leave early, etc.
