Make New Year’s Eve safer with these road rules now and all year | Opinion
Back in high school driver’s ed, my teacher gave some advice I didn’t understand at the time. When someone is tailgating you, he said, you should increase your following distance from the car in front of you.
I get it now: More following distance gives you time to slow down gradually. If you don’t have to stop suddenly, the risk that your tailgater will rear-end you goes down.
What bothered me at the time was that the maneuver does nothing to get the other driver to stop tailgating. I was focused on how I could change another driver’s behavior. Unfortunately, that’s not really possible when you’re out on the road. You can only control yourself.
That’s just as true on New Year’s Eve as it is any other time of year, but the fact is that there’s a heightened risk of sharing the road with an impaired driver this night and the day after. I’d love to wave a wand to take away the car keys of anyone about to drive under the influence, but I can’t.
So here’s your reminder of what you can do to keep yourself safer while driving. None of this is to say it’s your fault if a drunk driver hits you. It’s not, and the worst can happen even if you do everything right. But since you can’t stop someone else from driving recklessly, at least do what you can to lower the risk to yourself.
Plan ahead for a safe ride home
Either work out a way not to drive in the first place or figure out what you’ll do if you’re impaired or exhausted when it’s time to drive home. Think of a friend you’ll call, make sure a ride-hailing app is ready to go on your phone, or ask if anyone you’re going out with is planning to stay sober.
More than one plan is probably a good idea. You don’t want to be stranded if your ride decides to drink after all. Riding with an impaired driver is no safer than driving intoxicated.
Nearly half of all fatal collisions in Pierce County over the past 10 years involved impaired drivers. You can’t stop the world from drunk or high driving, but you can stop yourself.
Buckle up
After decades of campaigns to make seatbelts a no-brainer, it feels silly to even have to say this. Still, 20% of fatal collisions in Washington in 2024 involved people who weren’t using seatbelts.
Even if you drive perfectly, tonight is an excellent reminder that someone else can always drive stupidly. Buckling up makes it less likely that that person’s choice will disrupt or even end your life.
Put your phone away
That is always good advice, but now is a great time to remind yourself how important it is to stay off your phone while driving. Again, other drivers are out there making bad choices tonight, and you need to watch out for them with your full attention.
It’s no secret that phones are designed to make us want to check them, and although it’s not the same as drunk driving, reading your phone while driving can be a sign of addiction. The habitual sweep of the eyes across the screen to check for notifications is only semi-conscious for many of us.
So it’s not surprising that nearly 20% of fatal collisions in Pierce County over the past ten years involved distracted drivers. There’s no cure-all for breaking the phone habit, but perhaps try making a game of seeing how many other drivers are on their phones. It could be sobering.
Slow down
Now that you’ve assured that you’re sober and alert, lower speed is the best thing you can do to avoid collisions. It’s simple physics that you can stop more easily when you’re not speeding. A third of fatal collisions in Pierce County over the past 10 years involved speeding drivers.
The laws of physics don’t change when you’re approaching an intersection. As tempting as it is to gun it toward a green light, that’s one of the worst possible places to speed. The best course of action is to go the speed limit and be ready to stop at a yellow light. This can also help you avoid slamming on the brakes at the last second.
Don’t get worked up about other drivers
As natural as it is to get angry and respond aggressively when someone cuts you off, swerves around you or rides your bumper, it’s important to remain calm. In the immortal words of an icy Disney princess, let it go.
Find a method for focusing your attention away from idiots on the road that works for you. That could be thinking about your loved ones, deep breathing or calming music. Personally, I like to sing little scolding comments to a merry tune. It gets out the angry feeling but keeps my blood pressure down.
The point is this: don’t let a bad driver turn you into another bad driver. If you do, you’re not changing the behavior of the other driver. You’re letting them drive you.
