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Driving a car can give you freedom. But it’s also one of the riskiest things you do every day. This week, there have been two fatalities on Carter County roadways: an early morning accident on Highway 19-E just outside of town and an accident Thursday evening on Gap Creek Road. Earlier, there was an accident on the Mary Patton Highway near its intersection with Jim Elliott Road.

The closure of Broad Street Ridge has caused increased traffic on many of these roadways, including downtown Elizabethton, where a tractor-trailer trying to go around the monument earlier this week ran over the cannon displayed on the south side of Monument Circle. A couple of days later, a tractor-trailer trying to turn on Sycamore Street from E Street brought down some overhead electrical wires near the Elizabethton-Carter County Public Library.

There have been outcries and demands for the state to begin work on the Broad Street Bridge so that it can be repaired and reopened. Work is in progress on the Broad Street Bridge and has been since mid-December. You have not seen it because the work is being done underneath the bridge. But, if you live close by, you are aware of the work that is being done. The bridge almost looks new underneath.

Many things can make driving risky. Speeding, not paying full attention to the road, and driving while tired all increase your chances of a crash. Drinking or using drugs can be especially dangerous.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to keep yourself and others safe while in the car. Drivers are urged to always pay attention when behind the wheel. Research has shown that distraction from cell phone use while driving — either hand-held or hands-free — delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.

Anything that causes a motorist to take their attention away from driving, take their eyes off of the road, or take their hands off of the wheel is a distraction, including: • eating, drinking, and smoking, • changing the radio station, • talking on the phone, texting, or emailing, • reading or writing, • doing your hair or makeup, and • dozing or staring off at something along the side of the road.

And sometimes people get in too big a hurry and take chances while driving.

In addition to increasing awareness, agencies are focusing on enforcement. This week, the Tennessee Highway Patrol has had tractor-trailers pulled over on East E Street and on Sycamore Street. Signs have been posted to call attention to these drivers that trucks are not allowed in the downtown area. But still, they come, as many are not familiar with the Elizabethton downtown area.

Driving shouldn’t be a matter of life and death, a truism that is behind these ramped-up awareness and enforcement efforts. Safe roads depend on safe driving habits, and that depends on every driver, every day. Practice safety when you get behind the wheel. The price for carelessness is too high.

Hurricane Helene did a number on many areas in Carter County. In many of the outlying areas, such as Poga and Roan Mountain, many roads are still closed. We need to be patient, first and foremost, with each other.