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Harvard’s Institute of Politics Announces Fall 2024 Resident Fellows

Introduction

CAMBRIDGE, MA - The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School today announced the appointment of six Resident Fellows who will join the IOP for the Fall 2024 semester. The fellows bring diverse experience in politics, elected office, polling, journalism, and economic development to address the challenges facing our country and world today.

"We are thrilled to welcome this Fall's cohort of Resident Fellows to Harvard to engage and collaborate with our students and community, and to get their thoughts and insight in the final few months of this year's historic election. Their diverse experiences will no doubt inspire our students to consider careers in public service and prepare them to provide essential political leadership in the months and years ahead," said IOP Director Setti Warren .

"We are excited to have such a remarkable group of Fellows at the IOP this Fall. They bring varied perspectives on how to best approach some of our country's most consequential challenges, and I am confident our students will gain important insight into the fields of politics, civic engagement, journalism, and more," said Michael Nutter , Chair of the Institute of Politics' Senior Advisory Committee, and former Mayor of Philadelphia.

"We are thrilled to welcome the incredibly accomplished members of the 2024 Fall Fellows Cohort as we begin the fall semester prior to the incredibly important U.S. election. As we close out the 'biggest election year in history,' our world remains in the throes of a major period of democratic backsliding. American voters, including many Harvard students, will once again face the possibility of reactionary backsliding and threats to fundamental rights. Closer to home, we are keenly aware of the threats to free speech on campus. While this semester will bring renewed challenges to and debates concerning those fundamental rights, we are hopeful that study groups will remain a source of vibrant, productive, and gratifying discussions on Harvard's campus. In that spirit, this semester's cohort of Fellows will bring in critical perspectives from the varied worlds of governing, policymaking, polling, reporting, and campaigning to equip students with the tools necessary to create a better tomorrow. We are confident that this cohort of Fellows will help this program to remain a bastion of freedom of speech and civil discourse on Harvard's campus," said Éamon ÓCearúil ‘25 and Summer Tan ‘26 , Co-Chairs of the Fellows and Study Groups Program at the Institute of Politics.

IOP Resident Fellows are fully engaged with the Harvard community. They reside on campus, mentor a cohort of undergraduate students, hold weekly office hours, and lead an eight-week, not-for-credit study group based on their experience and expertise.

Fall 2024 Resident Fellows:

• Betsy Ankney: Former Campaign Manager, Nikki Haley for President
• John Anzalone: One of the nation's top pollsters and strategists, and founder of Impact Research, a public opinion research and consulting firm
• Alejandra Y. Castillo: Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development
• Asa Hutchinson: Former Governor of Arkansas and 2024 Presidential Candidate
• Brett Rosenberg: Former Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council and Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, Department of State
• Eugene Scott: Host at Axios Live, and former reporter who has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international level, including at the Washington Post and CNN

Brief bios and quotes can be found below. Headshots are available upon request.

Betsy Ankney Ankney is a political strategist with over 15 years of experience on tough campaigns. She has been involved in campaigns and Super PACs at the national and state level and played a role in some of the biggest upsets in Republican politics. She has been an advisor to Ambassador Nikki Haley since 2021, serving as Executive Director for Stand for America PAC and most recently as Campaign Manager for Nikki Haley for President. After starting with zero dollars in the bank and 2% in the polls, the campaign defied the odds, raised $80 million, and Nikki Haley emerged as the strongest challenger to Donald Trump. Ankney served as the Political Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2020 cycle. She advised senate campaigns across the country, working directly with candidates and their campaigns on budgets, messaging, and fundraising. Prior to her work at the NRSC, Ankney managed multiple statewide campaigns, including Bruce Rauner for Governor in Illinois and Ron Johnson for Senate in Wisconsin. For her work on Ron Johnson’s race, she was named “Campaign Manager of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants for 2016. Ankney got her start in politics at the 2008 Republican National Convention and served in various roles at the Republican National Committee as well as on multiple campaigns and outside efforts. She serves on the boards of The Campaign School at Yale and The American Association of Political Consultants. She is from Toledo, Ohio and attended Vanderbilt University.

"I am honored to be a part of the fantastic program at the Harvard Institute of Politics. As we enter the final stretch of one of the wildest and most unpredictable election cycles in modern history, I look forward to having conversations in real time about our political process, what to look for, and why it matters." – Betsy Ankney

John Anzalone Anzalone is one of the nation’s top pollsters and messaging strategists. He has spent decades working on some of the toughest political campaigns in modern history and helping private-sector clients navigate complex challenges. He has polled for the past four presidential races, most recently serving as chief pollster for President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign. In that role, he helped develop the messaging and strategy that drove paid communications, major policy rollouts, speeches, and convention thematics. He has also polled for the campaigns of President Obama and Hillary Clinton, and has helped elect U.S. senators, governors, and dozens of members of Congress. Anzalone works with governors across the country, including current Governors Gretchen Whitmer (MI) and Roy Cooper (NC). He polls regularly for the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Senate Majority PAC, and AARP. With more than 30 years of experience in message development and strategic execution, he has been called on by key decision-makers, executives, and CEOs to provide counsel in a changing world and marketplace. He has extensive experience using research and data to break down complex subjects into digestible messages that resonate with target audiences. He grew up in St. Joseph, Michigan, and graduated from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He is married and has four children, two dogs, and lives in Watercolor, Florida.

"After a 40-year career in politics I am so excited to give back by sharing and mentoring politically active and curious students, but also to have an opportunity to learn from them myself. During the next three months we will be living the 2024 elections together in real time. There is nothing more exciting than that regardless of your political identity." – John Anzalone

Alejandra Y. Castillo The Honorable Alejandra Y. Castillo was nominated by President Biden and sworn in as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development on August 13, 2021, becoming the first women of color to hold this position. Ms. Castillo led the Economic Development Administration (EDA) between August 2021-2024 through an unprecedented moment of growth and opportunity. As the only federal agency focused exclusively on economic development, she guided EDA’s the implementation of over $6.8 billion dollars in federal funding, powering EDA and its mission to make transformational placed-based investments to support inclusive and equitable economic growth across America. Spanning over two decades of public service and non-profit work, she has served in three Presidential administrations --Biden, Obama and Clinton. Her career has also included a drive to shattering glass ceilings and providing inspiration to multiple generations of diverse leaders. Castillo is an active member in various civic and professional organizations, including the Hispanic National Bar Association, the American Constitution Society, as well as the Council on Foreign Relations. Castillo holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook; a M.A. in Public Policy from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin; and a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law. A native of Queens, NY., the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic.

"I am excited to join this Fall semester IOP Fellowship class and have the opportunity to engage with students and faculty members across the University. The IOP fellowship presents a great forum to discuss and evaluate the future of U.S. industrial strategy and economic growth in light of the historic federal investments in place-based economic development during the last three years. I am honored to join my colleagues in making this an exciting and informative semester for students." – Alejandra Y. Castillo

Asa Hutchinson Governor Asa Hutchinson is a former Republican candidate for President of the United States. He served as the 46th Governor of the State of Arkansas and in his last election, he was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, having received more votes than any other Republican candidate for governor in the State’s history. As a candidate for President, Hutchinson distinguished himself as an advocate for balancing the federal budget, energy production and enhanced border security. He also was a clear voice for the GOP to move away from the leadership of Donald Trump. Hutchinson’s time as governor is distinguished by his success in securing over $700 million per year in tax cuts, safeguarding the retirement pay of veterans from state income tax, shrinking the size of state government, creating over 100,000 new jobs and leading a national initiative to increase computer science education. The Governor’s career in public service began when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1996, he won the first of three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed Governor Hutchinson to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as the nation’s first Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Border Protection. He is a former Chairman of the National Governors. He grew up on a small farm near Gravette. He and his wife, Susan, have four children and seven grandchildren. Governor Hutchinson is currently CEO of Hutchinson Group LLC, a security consulting firm.

"After 8 years as Governor it is time to teach and mentor. I am honored to have the opportunity this fall to share my experiences and perspective but to also learn from the students and my colleagues who will also be resident fellows at the IOP. The timing is historic with our democracy facing a critical choice this fall as to the direction of our country." – Asa Hutchinson

Brett Rosenberg Rosenberg is a foreign policy expert who has served in the White House, Department of State, and Senate. During the Biden Administration, Rosenberg was the inaugural Deputy Special Coordinator for the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, President Biden’s and the G7’s flagship program designed to meet infrastructure needs in low- and middle-income countries. At the White House, Rosenberg served on the National Security Council as Director for Strategic Planning, working on shaping and realizing approaches to issues spanning from international economics to Western Hemisphere engagement, as well as helping to write the National Security Strategy. Prior to her service in the Biden administration, Rosenberg was Associate Director of Policy for National Security Action, where she remains a senior advisor. Rosenberg began her career in Washington as a legislative aide to then-Senator Kamala Harris, where she advised the senator on a range of domestic and economic policy issues. Rosenberg is a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and her writing has appeared in outlets including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The New Republic, and McSweeneys. She received her A.B. in History from Harvard College and her PhD (DPhil) in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.

"What a privilege it is to be part of this incredible community in this incredible moment. I can't wait to learn from the students, faculty, and other fellows as we dive in together to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and the world." – Brett Rosenberg

Eugene Scott Eugene Scott is a host at Axios Live, where he travels the country interviewing political and policy leaders. He was previously a senior political reporter for Axios covering 2024 swing voters and voting rights. An award-winning journalist, Scott has spent two decades covering politics at the local, national and international levels. He was recently a national political reporter at The Washington Post focused on identity politics and the 2022 midterm election. Following the 2020 presidential election, he hosted “The Next Four Years,” then Amazon’s top original podcast. He also contributed to “FOUR HUNDRED SOULS: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019,” which topped the New York Times’ bestseller list. In addition to writing, Scott has regularly provided political analysis on MSNBC, CBS and NPR. Scott was a Washington Correspondent for CNN Politics during the 2016 election. And he began his newspaper career at the Cape Argus in Cape Town, South Africa not long after beginning his journalism career with BET News’ “Teen Summit.” Scott received his master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and his bachelor’s from the University of North Carolina Hussman School of Journalism and Media. He is a D.C. native and continues to live in the Nation’s Capital.

"Learning from and with the professionals that visited the IOP during my time on campus was one of the highlights of my time at the Kennedy School. I am eager to help lead students in understanding the press and this country as we navigate the final weeks of arguably the most consequential election of our time." – Eugene Scott

Additional information can be found here .

About the Institute of Politics Fellows Program The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School was established in 1966 as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. The Institute’s mission is to unite and engage students, particularly undergraduates, with academics, politicians, activists, and policymakers on a non-partisan basis to inspire them to pursue pathways in politics and public service. The Institute blends the academic with practical politics and offers students the opportunity to engage in current events and to acquire skills and perspectives that will assist in their postgraduate pathways.

The Fellows Program has stood as the cornerstone of the IOP, encouraging student interest in public service and increasing the interaction between the academic and political communities. Through the Fellows Program, the Institute aims to provide students with the opportunity to learn from experienced public servants, the space to engage in civil discourse, and the chance to acquire a more holistic and pragmatic view of our political world.

For more information on the fellowship program, including a full list of former fellows, visit: iop.harvard.edu  

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Key things to know about U.S. election polling in 2024

Confidence in U.S. public opinion polling was shaken by errors in 2016 and 2020. In both years’ general elections, many polls underestimated the strength of Republican candidates, including Donald Trump. These errors laid bare some real limitations of polling.

In the midterms that followed those elections, polling performed better . But many Americans remain skeptical that it can paint an accurate portrait of the public’s political preferences.

Restoring people’s confidence in polling is an important goal, because robust and independent public polling has a critical role to play in a democratic society. It gathers and publishes information about the well-being of the public and about citizens’ views on major issues. And it provides an important counterweight to people in power, or those seeking power, when they make claims about “what the people want.”

The challenges facing polling are undeniable. In addition to the longstanding issues of rising nonresponse and cost, summer 2024 brought extraordinary events that transformed the presidential race . The good news is that people with deep knowledge of polling are working hard to fix the problems exposed in 2016 and 2020, experimenting with more data sources and interview approaches than ever before. Still, polls are more useful to the public if people have realistic expectations about what surveys can do well – and what they cannot.

With that in mind, here are some key points to know about polling heading into this year’s presidential election.

Probability sampling (or “random sampling”). This refers to a polling method in which survey participants are recruited using random sampling from a database or list that includes nearly everyone in the population. The pollster selects the sample. The survey is not open for anyone who wants to sign up.

Online opt-in polling (or “nonprobability sampling”). These polls are recruited using a variety of methods that are sometimes referred to as “convenience sampling.” Respondents come from a variety of online sources such as ads on social media or search engines, websites offering rewards in exchange for survey participation, or self-enrollment. Unlike surveys with probability samples, people can volunteer to participate in opt-in surveys.

Nonresponse and nonresponse bias. Nonresponse is when someone sampled for a survey does not participate. Nonresponse bias occurs when the pattern of nonresponse leads to error in a poll estimate. For example, college graduates are more likely than those without a degree to participate in surveys, leading to the potential that the share of college graduates in the resulting sample will be too high.

Mode of interview. This refers to the format in which respondents are presented with and respond to survey questions. The most common modes are online, live telephone, text message and paper. Some polls use more than one mode.

Weighting. This is a statistical procedure pollsters perform to make their survey align with the broader population on key characteristics like age, race, etc. For example, if a survey has too many college graduates compared with their share in the population, people without a college degree are “weighted up” to match the proper share.

How are election polls being conducted?

Pollsters are making changes in response to the problems in previous elections. As a result, polling is different today than in 2016. Most U.S. polling organizations that conducted and publicly released national surveys in both 2016 and 2022 (61%) used methods in 2022 that differed from what they used in 2016 . And change has continued since 2022.

One change is that the number of active polling organizations has grown significantly, indicating that there are fewer barriers to entry into the polling field. The number of organizations that conduct national election polls more than doubled between 2000 and 2022.

This growth has been driven largely by pollsters using inexpensive opt-in sampling methods. But previous Pew Research Center analyses have demonstrated how surveys that use nonprobability sampling may have errors twice as large , on average, as those that use probability sampling.

The second change is that many of the more prominent polling organizations that use probability sampling – including Pew Research Center – have shifted from conducting polls primarily by telephone to using online methods, or some combination of online, mail and telephone. The result is that polling methodologies are far more diverse now than in the past.

(For more about how public opinion polling works, including a chapter on election polls, read our short online course on public opinion polling basics .)

All good polling relies on statistical adjustment called “weighting,” which makes sure that the survey sample aligns with the broader population on key characteristics. Historically, public opinion researchers have adjusted their data using a core set of demographic variables to correct imbalances between the survey sample and the population.

But there is a growing realization among survey researchers that weighting a poll on just a few variables like age, race and gender is insufficient for getting accurate results. Some groups of people – such as older adults and college graduates – are more likely to take surveys, which can lead to errors that are too sizable for a simple three- or four-variable adjustment to work well. Adjusting on more variables produces more accurate results, according to Center studies in 2016 and 2018 .

A number of pollsters have taken this lesson to heart. For example, recent high-quality polls by Gallup and The New York Times/Siena College adjusted on eight and 12 variables, respectively. Our own polls typically adjust on 12 variables . In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be necessary to have that much intervention by the pollster. But the real world of survey research is not perfect.

Predicting who will vote is critical – and difficult. Preelection polls face one crucial challenge that routine opinion polls do not: determining who of the people surveyed will actually cast a ballot.

Roughly a third of eligible Americans do not vote in presidential elections , despite the enormous attention paid to these contests. Determining who will abstain is difficult because people can’t perfectly predict their future behavior – and because many people feel social pressure to say they’ll vote even if it’s unlikely.

No one knows the profile of voters ahead of Election Day. We can’t know for sure whether young people will turn out in greater numbers than usual, or whether key racial or ethnic groups will do so. This means pollsters are left to make educated guesses about turnout, often using a mix of historical data and current measures of voting enthusiasm. This is very different from routine opinion polls, which mostly do not ask about people’s future intentions.

When major news breaks, a poll’s timing can matter. Public opinion on most issues is remarkably stable, so you don’t necessarily need a recent poll about an issue to get a sense of what people think about it. But dramatic events can and do change public opinion , especially when people are first learning about a new topic. For example, polls this summer saw notable changes in voter attitudes following Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. Polls taken immediately after a major event may pick up a shift in public opinion, but those shifts are sometimes short-lived. Polls fielded weeks or months later are what allow us to see whether an event has had a long-term impact on the public’s psyche.

How accurate are polls?

The answer to this question depends on what you want polls to do. Polls are used for all kinds of purposes in addition to showing who’s ahead and who’s behind in a campaign. Fair or not, however, the accuracy of election polling is usually judged by how closely the polls matched the outcome of the election.

By this standard, polling in 2016 and 2020 performed poorly. In both years, state polling was characterized by serious errors. National polling did reasonably well in 2016 but faltered in 2020.

In 2020, a post-election review of polling by the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) found that “the 2020 polls featured polling error of an unusual magnitude: It was the highest in 40 years for the national popular vote and the highest in at least 20 years for state-level estimates of the vote in presidential, senatorial, and gubernatorial contests.”

How big were the errors? Polls conducted in the last two weeks before the election suggested that Biden’s margin over Trump was nearly twice as large as it ended up being in the final national vote tally.

Errors of this size make it difficult to be confident about who is leading if the election is closely contested, as many U.S. elections are .

Pollsters are rightly working to improve the accuracy of their polls. But even an error of 4 or 5 percentage points isn’t too concerning if the purpose of the poll is to describe whether the public has favorable or unfavorable opinions about candidates , or to show which issues matter to which voters. And on questions that gauge where people stand on issues, we usually want to know broadly where the public stands. We don’t necessarily need to know the precise share of Americans who say, for example, that climate change is mostly caused by human activity. Even judged by its performance in recent elections, polling can still provide a faithful picture of public sentiment on the important issues of the day.

The 2022 midterms saw generally accurate polling, despite a wave of partisan polls predicting a broad Republican victory. In fact, FiveThirtyEight found that “polls were more accurate in 2022 than in any cycle since at least 1998, with almost no bias toward either party.” Moreover, a handful of contrarian polls that predicted a 2022 “red wave” largely washed out when the votes were tallied. In sum, if we focus on polling in the most recent national election, there’s plenty of reason to be encouraged.

Compared with other elections in the past 20 years, polls have been less accurate when Donald Trump is on the ballot. Preelection surveys suffered from large errors – especially at the state level – in 2016 and 2020, when Trump was standing for election. But they performed reasonably well in the 2018 and 2022 midterms, when he was not.

During the 2016 campaign, observers speculated about the possibility that Trump supporters might be less willing to express their support to a pollster – a phenomenon sometimes described as the “shy Trump effect.” But a committee of polling experts evaluated five different tests of the “shy Trump” theory and turned up little to no evidence for each one . Later, Pew Research Center and, in a separate test, a researcher from Yale also found little to no evidence in support of the claim.

Instead, two other explanations are more likely. One is about the difficulty of estimating who will turn out to vote. Research has found that Trump is popular among people who tend to sit out midterms but turn out for him in presidential election years. Since pollsters often use past turnout to predict who will vote, it can be difficult to anticipate when irregular voters will actually show up.

The other explanation is that Republicans in the Trump era have become a little less likely than Democrats to participate in polls . Pollsters call this “partisan nonresponse bias.” Surprisingly, polls historically have not shown any particular pattern of favoring one side or the other. The errors that favored Democratic candidates in the past eight years may be a result of the growth of political polarization, along with declining trust among conservatives in news organizations and other institutions that conduct polls.

Whatever the cause, the fact that Trump is again the nominee of the Republican Party means that pollsters must be especially careful to make sure all segments of the population are properly represented in surveys.

The real margin of error is often about double the one reported. A typical election poll sample of about 1,000 people has a margin of sampling error that’s about plus or minus 3 percentage points. That number expresses the uncertainty that results from taking a sample of the population rather than interviewing everyone . Random samples are likely to differ a little from the population just by chance, in the same way that the quality of your hand in a card game varies from one deal to the next.

The problem is that sampling error is not the only kind of error that affects a poll. Those other kinds of error, in fact, can be as large or larger than sampling error. Consequently, the reported margin of error can lead people to think that polls are more accurate than they really are.

There are three other, equally important sources of error in polling: noncoverage error , where not all the target population has a chance of being sampled; nonresponse error, where certain groups of people may be less likely to participate; and measurement error, where people may not properly understand the questions or misreport their opinions. Not only does the margin of error fail to account for those other sources of potential error, putting a number only on sampling error implies to the public that other kinds of error do not exist.

Several recent studies show that the average total error in a poll estimate may be closer to twice as large as that implied by a typical margin of sampling error. This hidden error underscores the fact that polls may not be precise enough to call the winner in a close election.

Other important things to remember

Transparency in how a poll was conducted is associated with better accuracy . The polling industry has several platforms and initiatives aimed at promoting transparency in survey methodology. These include AAPOR’s transparency initiative and the Roper Center archive . Polling organizations that participate in these organizations have less error, on average, than those that don’t participate, an analysis by FiveThirtyEight found .

Participation in these transparency efforts does not guarantee that a poll is rigorous, but it is undoubtedly a positive signal. Transparency in polling means disclosing essential information, including the poll’s sponsor, the data collection firm, where and how participants were selected, modes of interview, field dates, sample size, question wording, and weighting procedures.

There is evidence that when the public is told that a candidate is extremely likely to win, some people may be less likely to vote . Following the 2016 election, many people wondered whether the pervasive forecasts that seemed to all but guarantee a Hillary Clinton victory – two modelers put her chances at 99% – led some would-be voters to conclude that the race was effectively over and that their vote would not make a difference. There is scientific research to back up that claim: A team of researchers found experimental evidence that when people have high confidence that one candidate will win, they are less likely to vote. This helps explain why some polling analysts say elections should be covered using traditional polling estimates and margins of error rather than speculative win probabilities (also known as “probabilistic forecasts”).

National polls tell us what the entire public thinks about the presidential candidates, but the outcome of the election is determined state by state in the Electoral College . The 2000 and 2016 presidential elections demonstrated a difficult truth: The candidate with the largest share of support among all voters in the United States sometimes loses the election. In those two elections, the national popular vote winners (Al Gore and Hillary Clinton) lost the election in the Electoral College (to George W. Bush and Donald Trump). In recent years, analysts have shown that Republican candidates do somewhat better in the Electoral College than in the popular vote because every state gets three electoral votes regardless of population – and many less-populated states are rural and more Republican.

For some, this raises the question: What is the use of national polls if they don’t tell us who is likely to win the presidency? In fact, national polls try to gauge the opinions of all Americans, regardless of whether they live in a battleground state like Pennsylvania, a reliably red state like Idaho or a reliably blue state like Rhode Island. In short, national polls tell us what the entire citizenry is thinking. Polls that focus only on the competitive states run the risk of giving too little attention to the needs and views of the vast majority of Americans who live in uncompetitive states – about 80%.

Fortunately, this is not how most pollsters view the world . As the noted political scientist Sidney Verba explained, “Surveys produce just what democracy is supposed to produce – equal representation of all citizens.”

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Courtney Kennedy is Vice President of Methods and Innovation at Pew Research Center .

How do people in the U.S. take Pew Research Center surveys, anyway?

How public polling has changed in the 21st century, what 2020’s election poll errors tell us about the accuracy of issue polling, a field guide to polling: election 2020 edition, methods 101: how is polling done around the world, most popular.

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Kamala Harris and the Black Elite

The presidential candidate’s vision appeals more to college graduates than to the majority of Black Americans.

Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.

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If you want an illustration of the extraordinary racial progress America has made over the past 59 years, look to the life of Vice President Kamala Harris, who could now become the second Black president.

Born in Oakland, California—a city deeply divided by race, where the Black Power movement gained ground by explicitly rejecting the cause of racial integration—just months after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Harris has achieved great distinction in multiracial milieus, where her cultural literacy and deft code-switching have proved enormous assets. In the mid-1960s, Black elected officials almost exclusively represented Black-majority jurisdictions, and a Black presence in elite institutions was exceedingly rare. By the time Harris first won elected office in 2004, in contrast, she had settled in San Francisco, a city with a small and shrinking Black population, where it was essential for her to build a multiracial political coalition.

Harris’s political “launching pad,” according to the Politico reporter Michael Kruse , was “the tightly knit world of San Francisco high society,” which embraced her as one of its own. Harris came of age amid a rapid expansion of economic opportunity for Black Americans, and especially Black women ; her ascent reflects the diversification of the American elite and a growing openness to Black political talent among non-Black voters, both developments that are very much worthy of celebration.

One could argue that Harris’s emergence as the Democratic presidential nominee, like Barack Obama’s before her, is a fulfillment of the civil-rights-era promise of racial integration. Consider, for example, the striking racial diversity of her inner circle , which includes her brother-in-law, Tony West, chief legal officer at Uber; Disney Entertainment Co-chair Dana Walden; and of course her husband, Doug Emhoff, an accomplished entertainment lawyer. Harris’s social world is anything but segregated.

Yet there are rival conceptions of racial progress in American life, and the discourse surrounding Harris’s political rise has overlooked a potential vulnerability for the Democratic coalition in the long run—the cultural and ideological distance separating the progressive Black elite from the working- and middle-class Black majority.

Read: Identity politics loses its power

Because Blackness has historically been treated as monolithic, informed by a shared experience of persecution and marginalization, scholars and policy makers have long ignored the Black elite and its central role in America’s racial landscape. As a multiracial daughter of skilled immigrants who is very much at home among upwardly mobile professionals, Harris is best understood as a pioneering member of a Black elite that has been powerfully shaped by rising educational attainment, affluence, immigration, and intermarriage.

From 2002 to 2022, for example, the share of Black adults over 25 with a postgraduate degree increased from 5.3 to 10.6 percent . Over the same period, the share of Black families earning $200,000 or more, adjusted for inflation, rose from 3.9 to 8.4 percent . Those gains haven’t erased inequality; the share of Asian and white adults with a postgraduate degree remains significantly higher than that of Black adults (27.1 percent and 15.7 percent respectively), as does the share of Asian and white families earning $200,000 or more (28.1 percent and 18.2 percent). Nevertheless, these numbers speak to the emergence of a large and flourishing Black upper-middle class.

Rising Black immigration from the Caribbean and Africa, meanwhile, has infused the Black American population with self-selected newcomers who are more likely to be high earners than their native-born counterparts. More than one-fifth of Black Americans are either foreign-born or second-generation , and Black newcomers tend to settle in higher-opportunity neighborhoods and regions than Black natives.

And though Black-white interracial unions remain rare, the number has increased in recent years . As the number of interracial unions has increased, so too has the number of mixed births . Although finding detailed demographic information on all multiracial Black households is difficult, a Pew analysis of data from the 2022 American Community Survey shows that they have a median household income 21.2 percent higher than that of monoracial non-Hispanic Black households.

Needless to say, these various social developments don’t perfectly intersect. It is certainly not the case that all high-earning Black adults have postgraduate degrees, are immigrants, or are partnered with non-Black adults. But compared with the Black population generally, the new Black elite , forged in selective colleges and universities, is disproportionately first- and second-generation, intermarried or mixed-race, and suburban.

Read: What Trump’s Kamala Harris smear reveals

The distinctiveness of the Black elite could have a number of political implications. One is that as the cultural and socioeconomic distance between the Black elite and the Black majority increases, so too could the power of the Black elite to shape Black political behavior.

No one is surprised when educated and affluent white voters vote differently from working-class white voters. The notion of a Black “diploma divide” is less familiar. Despite considerable ideological diversity among Black voters, the Black electorate has been largely united behind Democratic candidates for decades. For years, the dominant explanation for the persistence of Black political unity has been the idea of “ linked fate ,” or the notion that Black voters see their individual interests as bound up with the status and well-being of Black Americans as a group. More recently, the political scientists Ismail K. White and Chryl N. Laird have attributed Black political unity to the practice of “ racialized social constraint ,” in which some Black individuals work to protect the interests of the group by shaming or otherwise punishing other Black individuals who threaten to defect from the group’s partisan norm. This practice of enforcing group partisan norms occurs through predominantly Black social networks, including in online spaces, such as Black Twitter. If White and Laird are right, the question becomes which Black individuals and communities have the authority to establish group political expectations.

In his 1903 essay on “ The Talented Tenth ,” the renowned sociologist and civil-rights activist W. E. B. Du Bois envisioned an elite cadre of exemplary Black women and men—an “aristocracy of talent and character”—that would provide the wider Black population with civic and social leadership. Though a man of the left, Du Bois was a frank elitist, who believed that it was “from the top downward that culture filters,” and that in the history of human progress, “the Talented Tenth rises and pulls all that are worth saving up to their vantage ground.” He took for granted that there would be a durable link between this educated ethnic vanguard and the Black masses, and that elite norms and behaviors would trickle down over time. The Black elite would set the agenda for Black advancement, and the Black majority would fall in line.

But as the Black elite grows apart from the Black majority—in its ethnocultural self-understanding, level of education and wealth attainment, and commitment to cosmopolitan ideals—expect its political authority to diminish.

Consider the politics of immigration, a major flash point in the 2024 presidential election. During Harris’s 2020 presidential campaign, she backed a number of progressive immigration priorities, including decriminalizing illegal border crossings, a position that her campaign recently reversed in a statement to Axios . This is one of several issues where a meaningful gap separates college-educated and non-college-educated Black voters. In 2020, before an intensifying border crisis moved public opinion in a sharply restrictionist direction, the American National Election Studies survey found that although 40 percent of college-educated Black respondents favored increasing immigration levels, the same was true of only 27 percent of non-college-educated Black respondents. When asked if immigrants were likely to take away jobs from Americans, 71 percent of non-college-educated Black respondents said they were at least somewhat likely to do so; among college-educated Black respondents, just 53 percent said the same.

Given that the college-educated Black population is more cosmopolitan, affluent, and likely to have recent immigrant ties, it makes intuitive sense that they would be more favorably disposed toward immigration. But those differences in lived experience might also diminish the ability of elite Black political actors to enforce a pro-immigration partisan norm against Black dissenters.

Then there are the differences between the Black elite and the Black majority when it comes to the role of race in public life.

Over the course of her long career in elected office, Harris has not evinced many fixed ideological commitments. But she has been consistent in her adherence to “ progressive racialism ,” or the belief that the cause of racial justice demands a more vigorous embrace of race-conscious policy making. In the U.S. Senate and the White House, she has championed race-preferential college admissions and hiring programs , environmental-justice initiatives , and cultural-competency training , among other race-conscious policy measures. In this regard, Harris is representative of her class.

Shortly before the Supreme Court ruled against race-preferential college admissions in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina , a Pew survey found that although U.S. adults opposed them by a margin of 50 to 33 percent, Black adults favored them by a margin of 47 to 29 percent. However, this overall level of support masked a telling divide among Black respondents. Sixty-four percent of Black college graduates backed race-preferential admissions; support fell to 42 percent for Black respondents with some college or less. This wasn’t because a far larger number of non-college-educated Black respondents were opposed to race-preferential admission—it’s because a much higher share said they weren’t sure.

One explanation is that elite discourse has greatly exaggerated the role of racial preferences in redressing racial inequality. For one, only a small fraction of U.S. undergraduates attend colleges and universities selective enough for racial preferences to matter. In a recent working paper , the economists Francisca A. Antman, Brian Duncan, and Michael F. Lovenheim compared underrepresented minority students in four states which banned racial preferences in public higher education to students in states that left preferences in place. Comparing outcomes before and after the bans and between states, they found that prohibiting preferences had virtually no impact on educational attainment, earnings, or employment for Black or Hispanic men, and may even have improved Black men’s labor-market prospects. While banning preferences produced worse outcomes for Hispanic women, in most cases there were also no statistically significant harms to Black women.

Assuming that these findings hold true more broadly, the impact of racial preferences on the life chances of Black Americans appears to have been negligible. Moreover, defending unpopular racial preferences may have made it more difficult to advance other policies that would have done more to foster Black upward mobility. Viewed through this lens, it is not surprising that many middle- and working-class Black voters are indifferent to the fate of race-preferential admissions, or that so many oppose them outright .

Read: ‘White Dudes for Harris’ was a missed opportunity

Even if we stipulate that race-preferential admissions did not benefit Black Americans as a whole, they did offer concentrated benefits to the relatively small number of Black individuals who were in a position to take advantage of them. A 2023 YouGov / Economist survey found that only 11 percent of Black respondents felt that affirmative action had a positive impact on their lives, or just over half of the 19 percent who felt that it had had any impact at all. But Black women and men who believe deeply in the benefits of race-preferential admissions have been well represented in high-status jobs, and they’ve played an outsize role in shaping the domestic-policy agenda of the progressive left. That could be part of why progressive policy makers have made such a sharp turn in favor of race-conscious policies in the post-Obama era, despite their deep unpopularity .

As Black political unity starts to fade, Harris has a choice to make. Building on the policy agenda she developed for her 2020 presidential campaign and the record of the Biden-Harris administration, the vice president can champion the race-conscious policies that have proved so resonant among the progressive Black elite in the hope that doing so will inspire a renewed politics of Black solidarity. The challenge for this Talented Tenth approach is that the Black voters who have been most receptive to Donald Trump are younger and working-class. These are Black Americans who came of age in the 1990s and 2000s, against the backdrop of rising Black cultural and political influence. They are less embedded in the Black Church, an institution that has played a crucial role in inculcating norms of racial solidarity. And they are not embedded in the modern university, where racial identity and preferences have been most salient. In short, they seem skeptical of the profound racial pessimism so common on the progressive left.

Rather than lean into progressive racialism, Harris could seek to appeal to middle- and working-class voters of all groups, including disaffected Black voters, by downplaying race consciousness in favor of populist and patriotic themes, drawing on the lessons of Obama’s successful 2008 and 2012 campaigns. Doing so would make life more difficult for those of us on the right who oppose Harris’s vision for American political economy and our role in the world—but it would be an encouraging portent of racial progress to come.

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Abraham Lincoln’s Wiliest Trick Should Be a Lesson for Biden

By Michael Vorenberg

Mr. Vorenberg teaches at Brown University and is the author of the forthcoming book “Lincoln’s Peace: The Struggle to End the American Civil War.”

The Democratic National Convention is over. Kamala Harris has accepted her party’s ringing nomination. President Biden has been relegated to the wings, a lame duck before his time. What role should he play between now and January?

An answer is offered by Abraham Lincoln. One hundred sixty years ago, the fate of the nation hung on a presidential election, as it does now, and Lincoln, like Mr. Biden, was a lame duck — or at least he assumed he was. His most trusted advisers (including Henry J. Raymond, the editor of The Times) told him that his rival, the Democratic candidate George B. McClellan, was going to win. The Union armies had suffered staggering fatalities and scored no recent major victory.

Democratic operatives had spread rumors that the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, was ready to negotiate for a restoration of the Union. Lincoln knew that Davis would never back down, but the propaganda worked. Many Northern voters were deceived into thinking that Lincoln’s insistence on Black freedom was the only thing keeping the war alive.

In response, on Aug. 23, 1864, Lincoln drafted the “Blind Memorandum” — a document from which Mr. Biden might take his cue. The memo stated that if Lincoln lost the election, he would “cooperate with the president elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration.” Then Lincoln distributed it to his cabinet secretaries with the text hidden (hence it was “blind”) and told them to sign it even though they could not read it.

He thus committed his administration to a bipartisan mission to preserve the Union regardless of the election’s outcome. It was a risky move but a noble one, which reflected Lincoln’s insistence that nation had to come before party.

Presidential transitions, Lincoln understood, were at least as important as presidential elections. He had known as much since 1861, when the transition to his presidency had put the nation on the verge of civil war.

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Essay on Road Accident with Quotations for Students

Essay on Road Accident is here for Students of different classes. A Road Accident Essay with Quotations for FSC 2nd Year is very important from the point of view of exams. In this essay, the student will discuss the situation of an accident that happened and also will share some quotes about it. In this post, there are 02 examples of Essay on Road Accident for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation. The first sample of road accident essay contains more than 500 words and the 2nd sample contains more than 300 words. You can use same quotations in both essays.

Students can write the same essay content under the title, Essay on Road Accidents in Our Country, A Motoring Accident Essay, A Bus Accident and An Accident Essay. More Essays are also available. My Hobby Essay is also available here. For more quotations, please visit  Top 20 Quotations for Essay on a Road Accident .

A Road Accident Essay with Quotations for FSC 2nd Year – 500+ Words

“be alert, accident hurt.” (charles lamb).

Life is not a bed of roses, its a bed of thorns. Many accidents take place in routine life. A road accident refers to an accident involving at least one road vehicle, occurring on a road open to public circulation, and in which one person is injured or killed.

On this busy planet, life has become very active and fast. People have to travel for various purposes. They use different vehicles to move from one place to another. Most of the people on the roads seem to be in such a hurry that they don’t bother to follow the traffic rules. Some of them even are unaware of the rules they should abide by on the roads. This negligence results in severe road accidents. These accidents can be fatal; if the victims are lucky enough to survive from them, they may live their entire life with the disability or at least suffering from a serious injury.

“Road sense is the offspring of courtesy and the parent of safety.” (Australian Traffic)

There are many other causes of road accidents. Most accidents are due to rash driving. Between speeding buses, motor-bikes, cars etc. in an uncontrollable urge to prove oneself as the ruler of the road, is the frequent cause of road accidents. Many road mishaps happen when the driver’s attention is divided between the person on the other side of the phone and the vehicles on the road. In spite of multiple warnings by the officials, people don’t restrain from using mobile phones and cause accidents.

“Accidents, and particularly street and highway accidents, do not happen they are caused.” (Ernest Greenwood)

The accident which I am going to narrate is very horrible. It was actually a road accident which I myself, experienced. It was just a rainy day and the start of another routine morning. l took a shower, called my friend to pick me from my home. All of this took a little longer than usual, not a surprise, so we were running late. My friend, Ali, was driving fast in an attempt to reach college in time.

“Chance takers are accident makers.” (Rick Allen)

We started down the first road to our destination. This road is about three miles long and filled with little hills. Unfortunately, there was lying a dead deer on the road. Our car struck it and went out of control.

“Know safety, no injury. No safety, know injury.” (Horace)

Suddenly, it hit a tree on the side of the driving seat. The car was stopped with a bulging sound. I got a slight injury on my head. I was terrified but I realized that God saved me from severe damage. I looked at my friend. His condition was very critical. I was calling him but he was unconscious. I was so confused that I did not know what to do to save him. I came out of the ear to seek help. Two to three people gathered there. One of them called the emergency number “1122” for the ambulance-immediately. The ambulance arrived very quickly. After about 15 minutes in the ambulance, we got to the hospital. We took him to the X-ray room and got X-rays of his arm and leg. They found out that his forearm bone was broken in his left arm. Besides this, his hip bone was severely affected. He was taken to Civil Hospital for surgery. A plate was put on his hipbones to help them stay together. He was in the hospital for six days and in a wheelchair for around eight weeks.

“When you. gamble with safety, you bet your life.” (Charles Dickens)

Thanks to Allah for saving our lives. We have now realized how precious life really is and that it can be taken away in a single minute. This is even easier when you are driving a car. One little mishap can result in an extreme injury or even death. We were lucky that we received immediate help, otherwise, things might have become worse. From this incident, I have learned a great lesson that we should follow traffic rules and avoid rash driving.

“Prepare and prevent, don’t repair and repent.” (A.A Milne)

You may like: Essays with Quotations for 2nd Year

Essay on A Bus Accident for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation – 300+ Words

Road accidents are taking place in our country (Pakistan) every day. Generally, these horrible accidents take place owing to reckless and rash driving.

Last year, I had to travel by road from Gujranwala to Faisalabad. I got up early in the morning. I said my Morning Prayer. I then packed up my luggage. I hired a taxi and reached General Bus-Stand. I bought my ticket and took a seat on the bus.

Soon the bus started. It was new and comfortable. There were about twenty passengers on the bus. The conductor expected to have more passengers in the way. All the passengers and driver seemed to be in a good mood. The driver was driving the bus a bit fast.

We reached Sheikhupura in about one and a half hours. The bus took a stoppage of ten minutes there and again started. We had hardly covered a distance of ten miles when our bus met an accident.

Our bus was running very fast. There came a big pit on the road. The driver applied the brakes. The brakes failed. The driver could not control the bus. The bus struck against the ground, time and again, hence its tie-rod was broken. Our bus collided with another bus, coming from the opposite direction. I was thrown out of my seat into the air through the gate of the bus. I fell down on the ground and fainted.

When I come to my senses, I witnessed a horrible scene. I sustained serious injuries. Around me were lying the dead and injured passengers. The front parts of both the buses were missing. A number of passengers had died. A woman had been cut into two parts. There was blood and death around me. I was, perhaps, the only passenger in senses. I could not, any longer, keep up my senses. I was again senseless.

When I again came to my senses, I found myself in the hospital. In the meantime, my parents had also reached there. I had to remain in the hospital for a week.

To conclude, road accidents in our country take place mostly owing to the reckless and rash driving. The accident, which I met and witnessed, was a horrible one. The scene of the accident haunts my mind me all the time. I can never forget this fearful motoring accident.

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Road Accident Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on road accident.

Essay on Road Accident: Road accidents have become very common nowadays. As more and people are buying automobiles, the incidences of road accidents are just increasing day by day. Furthermore, people have also become more careless now. Not many people follow the traffic rules. Especially in big cities, there are various modes of transports. Moreover, the roads are becoming narrower and the cities have become more populated.

Thus, road accidents are bound to happen. You pick up a newspaper and you will find at least one or two news about road accidents daily. They cause loss of life as well as material. People need to be more careful when on the road, no matter which mode of transport you are from. Even the ones on foot are not safe because of the rise in these incidences. Every day people witness accidents in the news, from relatives and even with their own eyes.

Road Accident Incident

Once I was on my way back home from festive shopping when I witnessed a road accident. I was with my sister and it was around 6 o’ clock in the evening. In the middle of the road, we saw a crowd surrounding something. We weren’t quite sure what was happening as the first thought that came to our mind was that it was probably a quarrel between two men. However, when we reached the spot, we found out an accident had taken place.

Subsequently, the police arrived as the people had caught the driver and were beating him up. After the police came, they caught hold of the driver and asked about the incident. Later, we came to know that the driver was drunk. The police detained him and went to the hospital for a statement. Fortunately, the driver was declared out of danger. The doctors dressed his wounds and informed that he was still in shock.

That incident made me realize how precious our lives are. In addition, as to how we take it for granted. We must all be very careful when on road, on foot or by a car that does not matter. We can adopt measures that will prevent road accidents.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Road Accident Prevention

We need to prevent road accidents to decrease the death rate. Every year thousands of people lose their lives to road accidents. Children must be taught from an early age about traffic rules. They must be taught the value of life and how they can safeguard it.

Moreover, the government must pass more stringent laws for people who disobey traffic rules. They must fine people heavily or take strict action when found guilty of breaking these laws irrespective of gender.

Similarly, parents must set an example for the younger ones by not using phones while driving. Also, they must always wear their helmets and seatbelts to avoid the chances of an accident.

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Essay on Road Accident

Students are often asked to write an essay on Road Accident in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Road Accident

Introduction.

Road accidents are unfortunate incidents that occur on our streets. They involve vehicles, pedestrians, animals, or obstacles and can result in injury or loss of life.

Major causes include reckless driving, speeding, and ignoring traffic rules. Bad weather and poor road conditions also contribute to accidents.

Road accidents can cause severe injuries, disabilities, or death. They also lead to property damage and emotional trauma for the victims and their families.

Following traffic rules, driving responsibly, and maintaining vehicles properly can prevent road accidents. Public awareness is also crucial.

250 Words Essay on Road Accident

Road accidents have become a pressing issue in the contemporary world, causing significant loss of life and property. They are often the result of human errors, mechanical failures, or environmental factors, with the consequences ranging from minor damage to catastrophic loss.

Causes of Road Accidents

The primary cause of road accidents is human error, which includes reckless driving, speeding, and driving under the influence. Distractions, such as the use of mobile phones while driving, also play a significant role in increasing road accidents. Additionally, poor road conditions and mechanical failures, like brake failure or tire bursts, contribute to this problem.

Impact and Consequences

Road accidents have far-reaching impacts. They lead to loss of life, inflict physical injuries, and cause psychological trauma. They also result in substantial economic loss due to property damage and medical expenses.

Preventive Measures

Preventing road accidents requires a multi-faceted approach. Strict enforcement of traffic rules, regular vehicle maintenance, and improving road conditions can significantly reduce accidents. Additionally, raising public awareness about safe driving practices and the dangers of distracted driving can play a crucial role in prevention.

Road accidents pose a significant threat to public safety and economic stability. It is crucial to adopt comprehensive preventive measures and foster a culture of responsible driving to mitigate this issue. By doing so, we can ensure safer roads and a more secure society.

500 Words Essay on Road Accident

The primary cause of road accidents is human error, which accounts for more than 90% of all accidents. This category includes reckless driving, speeding, drunk driving, and distractions such as mobile phone use. Speeding is particularly dangerous as it reduces the driver’s ability to steer safely around curves or objects in the roadway, extends the distance necessary to stop a vehicle, and increases the distance a vehicle travels while the driver reacts to a dangerous situation.

Mechanical failures, such as brake failure, tire blowouts, or steering failure, can also lead to accidents. Regular vehicle maintenance can prevent many of these issues, but not all drivers adhere to recommended service schedules.

Impact of Road Accidents

The immediate impact of road accidents is the loss of life and severe physical injuries, which can lead to long-term disability. However, the ripple effects extend much further. Families may lose their primary income earners, resulting in financial hardship. The emotional trauma can lead to mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety.

Road accidents also have a significant economic impact. According to the World Health Organization, road traffic crashes cost most countries 3% of their gross domestic product. Costs include the immediate medical costs, long-term rehabilitation, loss of productivity, and property damage.

Preventing Road Accidents

Infrastructure improvements can also reduce accidents. Better road design, improved signage, and the use of technology such as traffic cameras and speed sensors can make roads safer.

Road accidents are a significant issue with far-reaching impacts. While it is impossible to prevent all accidents, a combination of law enforcement, education, and infrastructure improvements can significantly reduce their occurrence and severity. As responsible road users, we must all do our part to make our roads safer and reduce the tragic toll of road accidents.

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• School Education /

Essay on Road Accident in 500 Words

• Updated on  
• Dec 13, 2023

Essay on Road Accident: Did you know how many people in a year lose their lives due to road accidents? According to the Transport Ministry of India, 1.66 lakh people died due to road accidents in 2022. This means 1 road accident death in every 3 minutes. We see in the news every day that there was a traffic accident that resulted in injuries or even deaths. Multiple reasons can cause road accidents, popular ones being wrong-side driving, road crossing, drinking and driving, etc. 

Check out the Latest Updates on All Board Exam 2024

Have you seen the Road Safety commercial starring Akshay Kumar in which he explains why we should wear seat belts and helmets while driving a car or a bike? Although there is some sense of humor in this commercial, the message is quite clear; ‘ Follow traffic rules for your safety.’

Why do Road Accidents Occur?

Traffic rules violation is one of the primary reasons why road accidents occur. From not wearing seat belts or helmets to jumping the red lights, several reasons cause road accidents. Here are some of the popular reasons that cause road accidents.

• Not wearing helmets on bikes.
• Not wearing seat belts in the car.
• Jumping traffic lights.
• Overtaking/ Reckless Driving
• Overspeeding
• Wrong side driving
• Drinking and driving

Also Read: World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims  

The reports from the Transport Ministry state that drinking and driving and wrong-side drawing cause more than 50% of road accidents in India. Every time we hit the road, we see a lot of traffic, especially during the peak hours. People are always in a hurry to reach their destination. All we care about is reaching our destination on time and not about the traffic rules. Our overspeeding or rush driving can affect not only us but others as well. On top of that, it also disrupts others on the street. Rather than trying to cover your destination in less time, try to cover it safely. That’s what road safety banners say. Better be Mister Late than to be Late, Mister.

Also Read: Essay on Cleanliness

How to Prevent Road Accidents?

Following and abiding by the traffic rules is one of the major factors that can prevent road accidents. That’s what they are meant for; for everybody’s safety, follow traffic rules. Following traffic rules is a personal responsibility. Here are some other tips that can help to prevent road accidents.

• When driving, try not to use the phone or talk to someone on call. You might lose your focus and it can lead to a big road accident.
• If you have consumed any substance, like a drug or alcohol, avoid driving.
• Always wear your seat belt, and ensure all passengers do the same.
• Use appropriate child safety seats for young children.
• Regularly check and maintain your vehicle, including brakes, tires, lights, and other essential components.
• Adjust your driving according to weather conditions. Slow down in rain, snow, or fog.
• Keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you.
• Educating yourself and the people around you about road safety can help reduce the prevalence of road accidents in the future.

Road accidents are caused by our own mistakes, especially by not following the traffic rules. The government has created these rules for our safety and it is in our best interest to follow traffic rules so that we can keep ourselves and pedestrians safe.

Also Read: Essay on Health is Wealth

Also Read: Essay on Water Conservation

Also Read: How to Prepare for UPSC in 6 Months?

Traffic Rules to Avoid Road Accidents

Here are all the traffic rules that everyone should follow to avoid road accidents.

• Ensure that you are not feeling sleepy or giddy.
• Check the vehicle’s engine oil, brake oil, battery/ radiator water, brakes, indicators, horn, lights, wipers & tyres.
• Plan your route before starting.
• Wear a seat belt & ensure that the person on the front seat also wears it.
• Drive within the prescribed speed limit (50/60 Km/hour)
• Stop before the stop line red lights.
• Obey road signs & road markings. Keep a safe distance from other vehicles.
• Be extra alert when you see a child/animal.
• Drive in the proper lane and change lanes by giving proper indications.
• Use the rearview mirror frequently. 

Ans: Traffic rules violations are cited as the major reason for road accidents. People do not follow traffic rules which leads to road accidents. Road accidents not only cause physical damage to you and your vehicle but also lead to death in most cases.

Ans: Road accidents are one of the major problems in countries with high populations. With so many people on the roads, people try to take shortcuts and avoid traffic rules. In India, wrong-side driving and drinking and driving are the major reasons for road accidents. People are always in a hurry to reach their destination. All we care about is reaching our destination on time and not about the traffic rules. Our overspeeding or rush driving can not only us but others as well. On top of that, it also disrupts others on the street. Rather than trying to cover your destination in less time, try to cover it safely. That’s what road safety banners say. 

Ans: Following the traffic rules can help prevent road accidents. Educating ourselves and the people around us will help in reducing the number of road accidents. Use appropriate child safety seats for young children. -Regularly check and maintain your vehicle, including brakes, tires, lights, and other essential components. -Adjust your driving according to weather conditions. Slow down in rain, snow, or fog. -Keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you.

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• Road Accident Essay

Essay on Road Accident

Road accidents are an unfortunate reality of our lives. The daily news reports generally contain at least one incident of a road accident. Depending on the severity of the accident, the number of casualties and the damage done can be concerning. Road accidents cost a lot of lives and property damage. To avoid accidents, everyone should be more careful and vigilant on the streets. As a driver, one must be extra cautious because one mistake from the driver can cost the lives of innocent others. 

  The Road Accident That I Experienced

I remember the first road accident I witnessed. It had changed my perspective on life. I still remember the date and the day very intricately. It was the 20th of September 2016. I was returning home from tuition. My mother had come to pick me up. It was around 6 o'clock in the evening. When we reached the bus stand, we saw a huge crowd of people at a few feet of distance from the bus stop. There were men in the crowd who were screaming in the regional language. 

At first, we couldn't understand what was going on. After a while of careful overhearing of the conversation of everyone near us, we could understand that there was an accident. So to get to the bottom of it we asked a shopkeeper what had  happened. He told us that indeed an accident took place a while ago. He then went on to give us a detailed event of what happened. According to him, a pedestrian was crossing the road. A passenger's bus had hit him. The man was left bleeding on the street. The people in the area then cornered the bus and assaulted the bus driver. The police were called to the scene. As for the pedestrian, when the police came over, they declared the man dead. However, as a formality, they sent him to the hospital but according to the shopkeeper, there is not much hope for a miracle. 

This incident made me realize how fragile life is. It could very well have been me or my loved one instead of that man.  The man was not at fault as he was following the rules, but because of the ignorance of another careless man, he had to lose his life. This incident has left a scar on my mind which still bothers me at times. 

Road accidents are a fairly tragic event that has dangerously increased in numbers nowadays. Today, there are more automobiles on the streets than ever. Some say that this increase in the number of automobiles is the reason the number of road accidents is increasing too. Some others say that people nowadays have become more careless, this leads to a higher number of accidents due to carelessness. Another problem that is very prevalent in India is the lack of civic sense in people. People in the cities of India do not strictly adhere to the traffic rules; some people also lack the basic road sense. On top of that, certain parts of the city have narrow roads. All these add up to increase road accidents.

Description of Road Accident:

Road accidents are scary for our lives. In recent times it has increased more. Every morning when you open a newspaper every second or third page will have news related to road accidents. The reason for increasing road accidents is due to the fact that people are buying more automobiles and have also become careless while driving vehicles.

Many a time we have seen that people are just avoiding following traffic rules. Especially in metropolitan cities, people are more careless while driving vehicles which ultimately lead to road accidents.

The foremost causes of road accidents in such metropolitan areas can be narrow roads and roads with potholes.

Thus a road accident damages the lives of life and material. People should be very careful while driving or walking on the road.

It is also seen that walking on the road is also equally dangerous because of heavy traffic it can also be harmful to the people walking on the road. Hence, such people should walk on the side of the road or walk on footpaths.

Road Accident Incident:

Once I was coming back from my office at that time when I witnessed a road accident. I was with my co-worker and it was around 6 o’clock in the evening. In the middle of the road, we saw a crowd surrounding something. We weren’t sure what was happening as the first thought that came to our mind was that it was probably a quarrel between two groups of people but then after reaching the spot, we found that an accident had taken place. 

After talking with the people present there, we came to know that a man who was crossing the road met with an accident while crossing the road. A truck passing by hit him leaving him with serious injuries. The man was lying on the ground bleeding and people were calling for an ambulance, plus they also informed the police about the incident. 

Subsequently, the police arrived and caught the driver of the truck as people had already taken a hold of the driver. During the investigation with the driver, the cops came to know that the driver was drunk and was driving the vehicle. Later on, cops detained him and took the injured person to the nearest hospital, and took a statement from the injured person. The driver was released later based on the statement given by the person. That incident made me realize how precious our lives are and we must be very careful when we are walking on the road, on foot, or driving a car.

  Prevention from Road Accidents:

There are some most important points that every person should keep in mind while driving or walking or crossing the road. These points are as follows:

Drive within the prescribed speed limit.

Don’t drink or smoke while driving.

Follow all the traffic rules as they are for our safety.

Never use mobile phones while driving a vehicle.

Always drive in the proper lane.

While riding a bike always wear a helmet.

FAQs on Road Accident Essay

1.  What are the causes of Road Accidents?

The main cause of road accidents is human beings’ attitude towards not following the traffic rule. Apart from this, there are some major causes of Road Accidents which are as follows:

  Over Speeding

  Drink and drive

  To avoid wearing a helmet while driving a bike.

  Talking on mobile phones.

 To avoid waiting on traffic signals and so are some of the major causes of a road accident.

2.  How to prevent Road Accidents?

Prevention of Road Accidents can only be possible if people change their attitudes towards traffic rules and show some maturity while driving vehicles. People should be very cautious while passing from the crowded area and at such places they should reduce their speed limit. On the turning of the road, they should stop and before crossing the road they should look at the right and left side of the road and then should cross the road.  Last but not least every vehicle should maintain proper distance between two vehicles to avoid a collision.

3.  How to reduce road death and injuries?

To reduce road death and injuries the corporation of the respective cities should see that city roads are connecting areas properly and constructed compactly. The sides of the road should be constructed broad and vendors or any cattle should be avoided who block the roads because sometimes due to unwanted cattle’s road death and fatal injuries might occur.

4.  How should an injured person be treated?

If someone is injured at that time first check the severity of the casualty accordingly and give the treatment. If the person is having normal injuries, first treat him/her with first aid and in the matter of serious injuries call an emergency ambulance.

5.  Why is it important to give First Aid immediately after the accident?

To promote instant relief and to avoid any further damage as well as for speedy recovery it is recommended to give first aid treatment immediately after the accident. This can help to reduce the fatal level of the injuries before getting emergency treatment.  As it is not always possible that emergency care reaches the victim within an hour. In that case, the people who are available next to the victim can give him/her first aid treatment to save his/her life.

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Road Accidents Essay | Essay on Road Accidents for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by sastry

Road Accidents Essay: Road accident is a global tragedy with the ever-rising trend. Almost every day, we come across the news of some accident on the television, radio and internet. Most people continue to neglect and ignore the dangers involved in their reckless driving and so, these accidents happen.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Road Accidents for Kids and Students in English

Given below are two essays in English for students and children about the topic of ‘Road Accidents’ in both long and short form. The first essay is a long essay on Road Accidents of 400-500 words. This long essay about Road Accidents is suitable for students of class 7, 8, 9 and 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants. The second essay is a short essay on Road Accidents of 150-200 words. These are suitable for students and children in class 6 and below.

Long Essay on Road Accidents 500 Words in English

Below we have given a long essay on Road Accidents of 500 words is helpful for classes 7, 8, 9 and 10 and Competitive Exam Aspirants. This long essay on the topic is suitable for students of class 7 to class 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants.

To begin with, carelessness is one of the major causes of the road accidents all over the world. Using the mobile phone while driving, breaking the traffic rules and entering from the wrong side driving are some examples of carelessness. Furthermore, inexperienced and untrained drivers and those with poor eyesight who drive at night are one of the major causes of escalating accident rate.

In addition, most of the people drive after drinking alcohol, which may lead to dangerous road accident. The provision of highways is resulting in convenience for the people. However, the main problem which is faced by the government of any country is the more frequent road accidents which are happening on the highways which results in severe damage in form of man power or infrastructure. The main reason behind the accidents which occur so frequently on the roads is the inattention which is given during driving a vehicle. There would probably be lesser amount of accidents if proper attention is paid and rules are followed during driving. There could also be weather conditions such as the fog which hinders visibility and result in accidents.

Road Accident is collision between vehicles (for example car, truck, motorcycle etc.) or it can, be with any pedestrian, animal or the hindrance placed in the middle of the road. The accident occurred could result in many injuries or damage to the property. There are various factors which come into account which can be the reason of accident such as the design of the road, driver’s impairment and vehicle design which can cause serious and most dangerous types of accidents.

There are four factors which are responsible for these types of road accidents. The failure of some equipment inside the vehicle resulting into serious accident is known as Accident due to Equipment Failure. These could be of various types such as failing of break, bursting of tyre, tread separations or the problem could occur in steering or suspension.

The accidents which occur due to the irregular design of roads are known as accidents due to Roadway Design. It could occur through hazardous visibility which consists of merging lanes, livestock or pedestrian crossings, crests and troughs etc. The accident also occurs due to the irregular surface of the roads which causes imbalance of the vehicle and results into collision with another vehicle or object.

Poor roadway maintenance also contributes to some of the road accidents. There could be debris in the way of the road which could create problems for the driver and is the responsibility of local highway department, faded road signs and potholes could be another cause for the major road accidents.

The first and foremost cause is driver’s behaviour other than the three causes discussed above which constitutes only 5% of the causes of the road accidents and 95% depends on this one.

Short Essay on Road Accidents 200 Words in English

Below we have given a short essay on Road Accidents is for Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. This short essay on the topic is suitable for students of class 6 and below.

The accidents are taking place at an alarming rate and so there is a need for taking protective measures by the government to enhance the education related to the safety adoption during driving to avoid the risk of accident. There are various policies which have been introduced by the government to reduce the number of accidents in the country. Various systems introduced abroad to control the accidents which takes place on the highway are like introduction of fine system, black points and installation of application like radars.

There should be formation of different associations which could take part in making the rules of road safety implemented in every part of the country and help the government in reducing the rate of accidents. Sharp division speed breakers which are situated on the highways could be placed with the forewarning boards and properly colored which could be seen from a distance.

There should be jurisdictional restriction on speed on different types of vehicles. There should be some technical equipment to put a check on speed.

Adequate measures should be taken by individual like proper wearing of seatbelts, time to time service of the vehicle to avoid any risk during long run. The driver should be educated enough to identify the roadside signboards to minimise risk of accident. The road safety rules should be followed strictly both by the people and the government agencies. This year 31 August was observed as road safety day in India.

Furthermore, passengers should also be vigilant enough to check drivers when they are over speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol. Police can play the pivotal role to decrease the ratio of the accidents. To sum up, there are many causes of the road accidents in our world, with good strategies and with the participation of the both government and individual; we can easily overcome with this potential problem.

Road Accidents Essay Word Meanings for Simple Understanding

• Blur – something vague, hazy, or indistinct
• Escalating – to increase, enlarge, or intensify
• Provision – something that is supplied or provided
• Manpower – the power of human physical strength
• Infrastructure – the basic structure or features of a system or organization
• Hinders – to obstruct or delay the progress of, block
• Impairment – the condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness
• Tread – the outer part of a tire or wheel that makes contact with the road, esp the grooved surface of a pneumatic tire
• Suspension – a system of springs, shock absorbers, etc, that supports the body of a wheeled or tracked vehicle and insulates it and its occupants from shocks transmitted by the wheels
• Merging – the act of joining together as one
• Livestock – domestic animals, such as cattle or horses, raised for home use or for profit, especially on a farm
• Crests – a slight upward curve to the centre of the surface of a road
• Troughs – a narrow channel, gutter, or gulley
• Collision – crash, hit, accident
• Debris – the scattered remains of something broken or destroyed; rubble or wreckage
• Potholes – a hole or pit, especially one in a road surface
• Forewarning – to warn in advance
• Cops – a police officer
• Intersections – a junction where one street or road crosses another
• Pivotal – of crucial importance
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Essay on Road Accident in English

Table of Contents

Essay on Road Accident: We all know how difficult it is to cope up with a sudden loss of life of a near and dear one; moreover, if the person who died was the bread earner, then the lives of the dependents turn topsy-turvy. One of the major reasons for sudden or unexpected deaths in India are road accidents. The irony is that, most of the road accidents could have easily been avoided. In the following essays I have tried to discuss the causes of road accidents and also suggested some solutions. I hope you will appreciate my effort and also my essays.

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Long and Short Essay on Road Accident in English

We all know the traffic rules. We also know the consequences of not following the traffic rules. Still, the irony is no one follows it and by the time a person realizes his/her mistake, it’s too late. Now-a-days it has almost become a fashion to flout traffic rules. In the following Road Accident essay, I have tried to figure out as to why road accidents have become common in India and as to how we can reverse this trend. I hope you will like my approach and the essay on Road Accident.

Short Essay on Road Accident – Essay 1 (200 words)

Maximum people including me, believe in luck or fate but the problem is that, when something goes wrong, we blame it on fate, rather than accepting our fault. For example, if a meteor falls on one’s house and destroys it. It can be said that it’s bad luck because there was no way by which the person could have guessed its coming or could have done anything to protect his/her house but if you are going on your bike and due to some reason, your bike slips and you get a serious head injury. Is it luck? I am afraid it’s not, It’s gross negligence. If you would have worn your helmet, the head injury would have been avoided.

According to a credible research, most of the road accidents could be avoided or their effect could be minimised if proper precautions are taken. The issue is that maximum people are aware of the safety precautions and also traffic rules and regulations but they consider it (especially youngsters) cool to not to follow them. How this trend started and gained momentum can be a matter of debate but the fact is this problem has taken monstrous proportions and if something is not done urgently, then very soon things will go out of control.

I think no amount of rules and regulations can solve this problem. For this the mentality of the public (especially youngsters) needs to be changed. I think, this could be done by creating awareness among public through various awareness programs. Let’s hope that in the coming time better sense will prevail among the public and the number of deaths caused by the road accidents will come down.

Essay on Road Accidents in India – Essay 2 (300 words)

Introduction

When we were young, we were taught “precaution is better than cure”, and so many other things like “one should help a person in need”, etc but as we grow old we almost forget these things and seldom follow them and by the time we realize that what was taught to us is really true and worthwhile, it gets too late.

Road Accidents in India

According to a data, around one and a half lakh persons die due to road accidents per year in India alone and according to a research most of the deaths are avoidable. Then the million-dollar question is, “why we are not avoiding it”? From where this idea, that wearing helmets and fastening of seatbelts is boring has crept into our minds, I am unable to answer.

I tried to find the answer to the question. According to my dad, films, television and media are one of the main reasons. Film stars and television personalities are shown indulging in irresponsible behaviour in movies and serials. For example, riding very fast on a bike without a helmet and with a girl on the back who is cheering and shouting with joy. Kids and young adults who idolize film stars and television personalities find it cool and try to imitate it in real life without realizing that what was shown in the movie was complete fake or special effect.

Movies like “Dhoom” and “Fast and Furious” etc have glamorized speed. Even bike companies in their advertisements emphasize on the speed of their machines. That is why fast bikes are a craze among youth. Every boy wants to own one these and every girl wants to have a boyfriend who has one of these.

Young boys and girls are routinely found racing on empty roads (sometimes busy also) and highways by the police. Normally they are left with a strong warning but the problem is that, it is not mending them.

Government and few non-government organizations have taken the initiative to educate the youths. Even film and television stars have come out and appealed to youngsters. Progress is slow but let’s hope that in coming time people (specially youngsters) will behave more responsibly and we will be able to control road accidents in India.

Essay on Road Accidents, Causes and Remedies – Essay 3 (400 words)

We Indians are a great lot and are really great at discipline. Where it is written “no parking”, there one can easily find many vehicles parked. This is a very common scene in cities. The next one is more hilarious. In government offices one can find writen on the wall, “do not spit” or in Hindi, “Yahan pe thukna mana hai”. At that very place you will find lots of spits”. The silver lining is that, at least it’s not life threatening but not following traffic rules and guidelines could result in loss of life.

Causes and Remedies of Road Accidents

• Lack of discipline

I think, this is the biggest reason of road accidents. We are aware of the rules but just don’t follow them. The most common rule which we don’t follow is, wearing of helmets and fastening of seat belts. This simple precaution can save us from serious injuries in case of accidents and it is easy to follow.

On should not cross a railway crossing when it is closed but who cares. It is common to find bikers and cyclists pushing their vehicles from under the closed bars. When asked for reason, the common reply is, “sir ji late ho raha tha”. I am unable to understand why one would risk his life, just to save 5 or 10 minutes. If you want to reach your office/home in time, then it is a good idea to move a bit early but crossing a closed railway crossing is not advisable as it could result in serious injuries or even loss of life.

Mobile phones have revolutionised our world but at many times they prove a big nuisance. It is common to find people chatting on their mobile phones while they are driving. This increases the risk of accident many times. It is not advisable to talk on the phone even if using hands free because one still gets distracted.

Listening to music or radio is also not advisable while driving because it can also cause distraction. If we follow all these rules (be in discipline), there is a good chance that we may never meet an accident.

• Natural and other Causes

There are many factors which are under our control but also there are some factors which are not under our control. For example, bad roads, bad weather, stray animals etc. I agree, these factors are not under our control but if we take precautions, we can minimize the effect of accidents in case they happen.

People need to be convinced that following rules and being in discipline is also cool and it is in their interest to follow traffic rules.

Essay on How to Prevent Road Accidents – Essay 4 (500 words)

We all are used to ignore statutory warnings. Be it cancer warnings on chewing tobacco and cigarettes or traffic warnings, like, “drive slow”, “do not overtake” etc. Normally our attitude towards them is that, they are meant to be ignored.

Actually, preventing road accidents is very easy, there is no rocket science in it. We just have to stick to basics but the problem is, who cares.

How to Prevent Road Accidents

• Do not Over Speed

We all love speed. This is why fast bikes and fast cars are in great demand. Even manufactures highlight the speed of their machines in their advertisements. When traffic police catch us speeding, then our standard excuse is, “sir, I was getting late for office”. I am sure most of us will agree to the fact that it’s a lame excuse. The solution to this is simple, “leave your house early”.

Sometimes we do it for fun (specially youngsters indulge in racing or stunts). I think they get inspired from movies and serials without realizing that what is shown to us is special effect and fake.

• Do not Drink and Drive

This reason is responsible for a majority of major road accidents. First of all, it is not a good idea to drink but let’s say, you end up eventually having few glasses in a friend’s party then under no circumstances should you be driving. You can ask someone who is not drunk, to drive or you can take a taxi etc.

It has been proven scientifically that alcohol reduces the ability of the mind to think and react properly. Therefore, doesn’t matter how confident you are feeling, you should never drive after drinking. Certain medications also cause the same effect on mind as alcohol. So, if your doctor has advised you not to drive after taking some medications, then you should avoid doing it. As by doing it you are putting your life and also others life in danger.

• Learn Driving Before Driving

Most of us have never learnt driving formally (I mean in a driving school or by a driving instructor). Someone (normally relatives) just guide us a bit and then we think we are good to go. Persons (specially teenagers) who don’t know proper driving are at more risk than those persons who know proper driving.

This is why there is a driving test before one can get a driving licence but every one knows the reality. For few thousand rupees one can get a driving licence (without giving a driving test).

There are many who don’t have a driving licence at all and they continue to drive freely. If one is caught then he/she just gives a few hundred rupees to the concerned official and you are good to go.

• Proper Maintenance of Roads

Many accidents also happen due to poor maintenance of roads. For example, potholes, broken roads, open manholes etc increase the chance of accidents. Therefore, they should be taken care of, to decrease the chances of accident.

If one is careful and follows all rules and regulations carefully then many road accidents could be avoided and our roads will become safer.

Long Essay on Road Accident – Essay 5 (600 words)

Accident by definition means, “an unexpected and unintentional incident, causing damage or injury” but in most of the cases accidents can be avoided, if certain precautions are taken. So, if we take precautions, it’s good for us and if we don’t take precautions then we ourselves are responsible for the consequences.

According to a data around 1.5 lakh people die per year due to road accidents in India alone. Of course, this number could be reduced easily but for that we have to change our attitude and start following traffic rules and regulations.

What Precautions should be taken to Avoid Road Accidents?

• Never Drive when Feeling Tired or Sleepy

Normally when we are returning from day’s work, we are tired. There is good chance we may feel a bit sleepy. In that case one should never drive because the chance of (serious) accident increases. It’s a good idea to relax a bit and then drive or better take a taxi.

• Never Drive under the Influence of Alcohol or other Drugs which Hamper the Ability of the Brain

This one is a strict no-no. Under no circumstances one should drive after consuming alcohol. If some one does it, he/she is risking his/her life and also the life of others.

• Wear Helmets and Seatbelts while Driving

This rule is the easiest one to follow and has great benefits. This minimizes the effect in case of an accident.

• Never use your Mobile Phone while Driving

This rule is one of the most leniently followed. It is very common to find people talking on their mobile phone while driving. Talking on the mobile phone causes diversion of mind and in a flip second one can lose control and that can cause accident.

• Jumping Red Light can be Fatal

Traffic lights are made for a purpose. If you jump a red light (no matter why), you run the chance of getting hit by a vehicle coming from other direction. Therefore, it’s a good idea to stop at red light and move only when it’s green.

• Never Overspeed

No matter, how tempted you feel to speed up your car or bike after hearing the title tune of “Dhoom”. One should never do it because we all know that what is shown in movies is not real.

Sometimes people speed up to reach the office/house on time. For this, the easy solution is to start your journey a bit early.

• Make Sure your Headlights and Tail Lights are in Working Condition

Suppose you are driving in night and you want to turn your vehicle to the left, so you turn on your left indicator but your tail light is not working, so the driver behind you was not able to know that you want to turn and he hits your car.

This is a possible scenario. So, it’s a good idea to keep your car in good condition and get it repaired as soon as you find any faults.

• Drive Slowly and more Carefully in Bad Weather

The chances of accident increases by many folds in bad weather (rain, storm, snow etc). Therefore, one should avoid driving in bad weather but if that is not possible then one should drive very carefully and slowly otherwise he/she can get hurt.

• Busting of Tires

Suppose you are driving on a lonely road and your car runs over an iron nail and your tire bursts. There is a chance that your car may flip or your car may get hit by another car. An iron nail was there on the road. You can’t do anything about that but if you had taken precautions like driving under speed limit and wearing of seatbelts, you can definitely minimize the effect of the accident.

There are so many things which are under our control and also there are some things which are not under our control. So, let’s do what we can do and leave the rest to God. With some effort I am sure we can bring down the number of road accidents.

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Top 20 a Road Accident Essay Quotations

• February 1, 2024

Kainat Shakeel

Road accidents have become a current concern in our society, causing ruinous consequences that extend beyond the immediate incident. This essay explores the colorful aspects of road accidents, from their causes to forestallment measures and their impact on lives. 

Causes of Road Accidents

• Distracted Driving 

One of the leading causes of road accidents is distracted driving. The use of mobile phones, conforming to the radio, or indeed eating while driving diverts attention from the road. 

Excessive speed is a significant contributor to accidents. Speed limits live for a reason, and exceeding them jeopardizes the safety of everyone on the road. 

• Drunk Driving 

Driving under the influence of alcohol or medicines poses severe trouble. disabled judgment and delayed response times contribute to accidents. 

• Poor Road Conditions 

Poor road conservation, lack of signage, and inadequately designed corners contribute to accidents. Addressing these issues is pivotal for overall road safety. 

Quotes on Road Accident

• ” In the blink of an eye, lives can change forever on the road.”
• ” A moment’s distraction can lead to a continuance of remorse.”
• ” The road does not forgive, and accidents do not forget.”
• ” Behind every statistic is a mortal story, altered by a road accident.”
• ” The scars of a road accident go beyond the visible damage.”
• ” Speed limits aren’t suggestions; they are a commitment to safety.”
• ” Driving responsibly is a pledge to cover not just your life but the lives around you.”
• ” Road accidents shatter the vision of invincibility.”
• ” Every crash is a lesson in the fragility of life.”
• ” In the race of life, the finish line isn’t worth the threat of reckless driving.”
• ” The road is a participated space; let’s make it a safe one for everyone.”
• ” Glasses show us where we have been, but responsibility attendants us where we are going.”
• ” Two seconds of distraction can lead to a continuance of consequences.”
• ” Drive as if every auto around you carries someone you love.”
• ” Road safety isn’t just a rule; it’s a responsibility.”
• ” No textbook is worth a life. Do not let your phone drive your opinions.”
• ” It takes only a moment to make a bad choice on the road, but a continuance to recover from its impact.”
• ” A crash is the result of conduct, but the fate requires responses.”
• ” Road accidents do not distinguish; they can be to anyone, at any time.”
• ” The sound of tires screaming is a memorial to pay attention, not a soundtrack to tragedy.”
• ” An accident does not just leave descent marks on the pavement; it leaves an unforgettable mark on the soul.”
• ” Road accidents aren’t accidents; they are the result of choices made on the road.”
• ” A road accident is a collision of paths, frequently with ruinous consequences.”
• ” Road safety is a participated responsibility; let’s not let each other down.”
• ” The road is a classroom; wisdom is learning without having to endure a crash.”
• ” It’s not just about arriving safely; it’s about ensuring everyone differently does too.”

In conclusion, addressing road accidents requires a multifaceted approach involving individualities, communities, governments, and transnational collaboration. By understanding the causes, enforcing preventative measures, and fostering a culture of responsibility, we can inclusively strive towards safer roads.

Kainat Shakeel is a versatile SEO-Content Writer and Digital Marketer with a keen understanding of tech news, digital market trends, fashion, technology, laws, and regulations. As a storyteller in the digital realm, she weaves narratives that bridge the gap between technology and human experiences. With a passion for staying at the forefront of industry trends, her blog is a curated space where the worlds of fashion, tech, and legal landscapes converge.

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Road Safety: Addressing Causes and Solutions

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Introduction

The causes of road accidents.

The Consequences and Solutions

The role of governments and communities.

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