Road safety: it’s time to make a change
Getting reminders is a good thing. We make lists before we shop for food as a reminder of what we need to buy. We make lists before we go on vacation to ensure we pack everything we need before leaving. We make lists of gift ideas during the holidays. We even make lists of things we need to get done at home or at work. These lists are a good way to remind us of what we need to do. Each year drivers also receive reminders. Maybe not so much as a list, but more of a way to act and behave behind the wheel.
In the spring each year in Canada, we welcome Canada Road Safety Week. Each year they do a 7-day campaign with the focus of different things to help make our roads safer. The theme for 2022’s campaign is entitled “Safer You. Safer Me.” Its goal is to emphasize the decisions drivers make will not only affect them but other road users such as their passengers, other drivers, motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians. As a whole, we really need these reminders. It’s time to make a change.
Stubbornness gets in the way of self improvement. True, no one likes to be told they make mistakes and are not doing things as well as they believe, but self improvement is a life-long effort. By definition, self improvement is “the improvement of one’s knowledge, status, or character by one’s own efforts.” Doesn’t road safety count? Being open-minded as a driver means we’re open to learn new things, to make new habits, to be better. Even the greatest athletes had coaches. Someone who helped them improve. Why can’t driving be the same? As drivers, we need the advice of experts to help build our self improvement. Stop being so stubborn. It’s time to make a change.
This road safety awareness campaign aims to make Canada’s roads one of the safest in the world. To get this started, the campaign is focused on actions which put each of these road users at risk. The focus includes impaired driving (drug and alcohol), fatigued driving distracted driving, driving without a seat belt and aggressive driving. All of these are avoidable, but for some reasons, people feel they can either still feel they can operate a vehicle safely, not get caught or downright don’t care. It’s time to make a change.
Like any other reminder, we deal with it immediately and move on. The next day the list is forgotten. Driving is different and should be treated differently. It something we do daily or almost daily. Many of our actions have turned into habit, but habits can change. Actually, habits never go away, they just change. It’s time to make a change.
What if you took the tips to help change your driving habits and after the first day, kept reviewing them each day. After the road safety week is over, keep reviewing the tips. Make them your new habit. It’s been often said that it can take over 20 days to make a new habit, but to lose one habit and replace it with another habit, it can take double that time. You, your family and other road users are worth it. You have so much to gain, including health, financial and emotional gains. Let’s turn Road Safety Week into Road Safety Month and then turn it into Road Safety Year. It’s time to make a change.