Wilson 1 Savanna Marie Wilson Professor Alicia Bolton English 101 November 5, 2013 Heres Your Sign: Be Safe

and Save the Innocent Traffic safety helps in reducing the number of injuries and deaths on the road. Traffic safety not only means lights, signs, and signals, it also means law enforcement, etc. Traffic consists of pedestrians, bicyclists, airplanes, motor vehicles, and many other things. As you can see, traffic is any and every one. What does traffic mean to you? To most people, including myself, traffic means those annoying people who drive too slow or cut you off and just being outright ignorant on the road. What does safety mean to you? To most people, including myself again, safety means taking the necessary precautions to protect the livelihood of you and others around you. In Steven Caseys Freeway Driver, Richard Ankrom addresses the issue of road safety on the freeway. Ankrom states that when he drives down the freeway, he always notices that his exits passes by him because there were no warnings ahead of time to let him know to get in the far right lane. As this example indicates, traffic signs are for the safety of everyone, and therefore, the Department of Transportation, for every state, needs to invest in more signs, signals, and any other pre-cautionary system to help save the lives of the innocent and the guilty. To begin, we need more pre-cautionary systems in the world to prevent from tragic deaths and injuries. There are many dangers lurking on our roadways when they are not properly maintained and unsuspecting drivers may be in jeopardy from these hazards (Road Conditions). These systems arent just for the unsuspecting drivers, but also for the suspecting drivers. As stated in my introduction Steven Caseys Freeway Driver, Richard Ankrom,

Wilson 2 addressed the issue of road safety on the freeway. Ankrom stated that when he drives down the freeway he always notices that his exits pass by him. From reading Freeway Driver I learned that Ankrom always took the same routes to wherever he went and even though he knew the exits were coming up, they still snuck up on him, due to no forewarnings. What if he would have jumped lanes to get off on his exit? Just like that people could have died or seriously gotten hurt. As mentioned before, there are many dangers on the road. Dangers can be anything from jumping lanes due to no signs to potholes in the road. Next, I will talk about the traffic light itself. Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light because of a terrible experience he had witnessed in 1922. As I read in a book that Patricia J. Murphy wrote: One day in 1922, a car and a horse-drawn carriage crashed into each other at a busy street corner. Garrett saw it happen. He was very upsetThere were some traffic signals with STOP and GO signs, but they did not do much good (Murphy 21). If it werent for Garrett Morgan experiencing this terrible accident who knows what kind of traffic safety the world would have today. The traffic light helped save many lives and made more people aware of their surroundings on the road. Garrett Morgan had the right idea when he invented the traffic light and the many other things he invented the traffic light just so happens to be one of the best. Now, there are some people who would say that there are enough pre-cautionary systems in each state to stop collisions, catastrophes, and even tragic casualties. We have traffic lights, street signs, law enforcement, and other things of that sort to prevent some tragic accidents but they can be improved. In a credible article called Saving Lives on the Highway, Deborah Tolchin, gave statistics of deaths on the road in 2003. She stated that In the United States, 43,340 people, including 8,578 under the age of 21, were killed in car crashes in 2003, the most recent year (Tolchin). Yes, traffic safety has improved since 2003 but, that doesnt mean there

Wilson 3 is not room for improvement. The National Highway Traffic Safety Department stated Motor vehicle crashes and fatalities increased in 2012 after six consecutive years of declining fatalities on our nations highways. The nation lost 33,561 people in crashes on roadways during 2012, compared to 32,479 in 2011 (NHTSA.) Yes, deaths due to car crashes have dropped but, it is beginning to go back up. Deaths can be prevented, or at least lessened if the right steps are taken. Although, each state needs more overpasses, crosswalks, traffic signs/signals, and more law enforcement getting out there and stopping the impaired from killing another person or themselves. None of that will do anyone any good if they dont pay attention to the precautions. As seen on a film, The more you drive the more experience that you get. The more time you spend on the road, youll be able to react to different situations quickly and efficiently... Its something you have to practice and its something you have to be really aware of and stay on top of (Basic Driver Tactics, Traffic Signs and Signals). For instance, if youre texting and driving and run through a red light and hit and kill a pedestrian, it would be your fault for not paying attention, not the department of transportations fault for not having a sign where needed. Though safety has improved, drastically, there can never be enough safety for the common good of mankind in the world. The lives of innocent people are at stake if advances arent made where they need to be made. Because of this, citizens should care. The government should care. More importantly, the Department of Transportation should care. Just as the law enforcement needs to step up and stop the impaired from hurting anyone, you should to. Take a stand and make a change. In conclusion, Ive personally had someone dear to me die because of an impaired driver. My brother was only nine years old, and teaching me how to ride a bike. The man who killed him had just left the eye doctor and they dilated his pupils. If the people would have told

Wilson 4 him he couldnt leave until he was fine to drive or told him to call someone to get him, my brother may still be alive. Traffic signs, signals, and law enforcement is not just for me but for the safety of everyone! Therefore, the Department of Transportation, for every state, needs to invest in more signs, signals, and any other pre-cautionary system for traffic safety. What does traffic mean to you now? It means vehicles coming and going in any place. But what does safety mean to you now? It means everything, it means being protected and being able to be comfortable of where I am and what my surroundings are and knowing that even though the world can be a bad place, there is always a chance to make it a better, safer, and happy world to live in. Heres your sign, be safe and save the innocent.

Wilson 5 Works Cited Page Basic Driving Tactics. Traffic Signs and Signals Films Media Group, 2005. Films On Demand. Web. 13 November 2013. <http://storm.hgtc.edu:2048/login?url=http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=3 503&xtid=34605&loid=22258>. Casey, Steven. Freeway Driver. The Atomic Chef: And other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error. New York: Aegean Publishing, 2006. 97-107. Print. Kowalick, Tom. Fatal Exit: The Automotive Black Box Debate. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2005. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost).Web. 12 November 2013. Murphy, Patricia J. Garret Morgan: Inventor of the Traffic Light and Gas Mask. Berkeley Heights, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 2004. Print. NHTSD: The National Highway and Traffic Safety Department. <http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCSA>. Web. 21 November 2013. Road Conditions: A Leading Cause of Accidents. New Haven Personal Injury Lawyer - Jacobs & Jacobs, 2013. Web. 13 November 2013. Tolchin, Deborah. "Saving Lives on the Highway." Pediatric News (Apr. 2007): 31. Academic OneFile. Web. 13 November 2013.