Visualizing Auto Safety: A Powerful Way to Avoid North Carolina Car Accidents
Ever since scientists in the 1950s discovered that the brain has something called a reticular activating system (RAS) that trains our focus, countless gurus, productivity experts, safety technicians, and teachers have focused on the power of visualization.
This blog post will explore a cool and possibly unique approach to avoiding North Carolina automobile accidents. It’s based on the concept that focusing and visualization can lead to success in various enterprises.
If you accept the basic premise that what you focus on becomes your reality, it might behoove you to spend a small but non-negligible fraction of your day focusing on becoming a better, safer driver.
This may seem like overkill. You already know how to drive, right? If you recently got into a North Carolina car accident, chances are, it was the other driver’s fault – or the fault of a malfunctioning part, bad road engineering, etc. This may all be true. You may be right. You may be the world’s greatest driver, the world’s greatest gift to driving. But you may nevertheless benefit from visualizing yourself as an even better, safer driver.
Just look at the math. Auto accidents are one of the leading causes of accidental death in North Carolina and in the rest of the United States. Around 40,000 people lose their lives every year on American roads, and millions more are injured, some severely. Even if a regular visualization exercise only reduced your risk of being in a fatal or serious car accident by five percent over the course of your life, that’s still a pretty significant benefit.
Of course, there are no consistent, controlled studies to demonstrate the efficacy of “safe driving visualization,” so an endeavor like this may or may not work. But it is at least something that policy analysts and safety experts might want to consider.
Imagine Yourself as the Driver You Want to Be
Assume a “best-case scenario” optimistic vantage. In an ideal world, what kind of driving would you do, how would you do it, and what safety measures would you implement? Don’t think about money, time, logistics, or other constraints. Just imagine your “driving life” from a best-case scenario perspective. You can flesh this out at your leisure, but start to find concrete, emotionally resonant goals, such as:
• You drive half as much as you do right now, on average;
• You have the safest car out there, with all the latest bells and whistles, like ABS, airbags galore, etc.;
• You only drive during safe hours and avoid driving during the most dangerous times, such as Friday and Saturday nights and holidays like New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl Sunday;
• You take “refresher” drivers education courses once every five years to solidify your knowledge and skills.
Once you identify your goals, reflect on them during meditation or during your morning and evening routines. Ideally, write down your goals on paper so you can reinforce them repeatedly.
For help with a specific accident question, connect with a North Carolina auto accident law firm.
More web resources:
Visualization and goal setting – how to get started
How to drive less
