Kaitlin Olson Drivers Ed Essay

Every time I hear of a car accident I am reminded of an accident that my dad had when he was close to the age I am now. His car stalled out in the middle of a highway as he was turning across oncoming traffic and he got hit causing his head to go through the front windshield and obtain life threatening injuries. This has caused me to really pay attention when my time for drivers training came.

I think that I am pretty fortunate to have a great local driving instructor. She does a good job of stressing the importance of being an attentive driver and not allowing yourself to get distracted while behind the wheel. She shows videos of accidents and talks about ways to avoid many of them. When your time for individual behind the wheel drivers training comes, she uses that time to reteach things to watch for to stay safe.

There are many different steps that could be taken to reduce driving related deaths. Some of these include more people wearing their seatbelts at all times, hands free driving or not using cellphones while driving, and limiting distracted driving or doing any activity that takes your focus away from the road in front of you. These steps all are something simple people can do to keep themselves and other people around them safer while on the roads. We have to figure out a way for people to follow them though, because people don’t like to comply with the laws. I think that most people don’t perceive things like loud music, too many people in their car, or talking on a phone as dangerous, which is something that needs to change.

In my town there is an intersection that has at least a half dozen car accidents each year, the same intersection that my dad’s car stalled out in. A lot of the accidents have been minor and non life threatening, but some of them have been very serious and have led to people dying. The state decided to try and fix the problem by reconstructing the intersection to make it safer for the people driving through it. It has decreased the number of accidents since it was done, but there have still been minor ones because of people not watching their surroundings when crossing the intersection.

I suppose it is because I am old enough to be a driver now, but it seems like there are more car accidents recently. I myself have only been involved in one minor car accident that happened because my brother and I were going around a corner that had black ice on it and he lost control. The car went into the ditch and we had to call the tow truck to get it out, but neither of us nor anyone else got injured because of it.

I have a few kids in my school that have been in more serious accidents. Last spring, one classmate fell asleep at the wheel and rolled his truck as it went into the ditch. I have also had a few other friends that have either gone into the ditch or hit an animal or another car. Most of them only received minor injuries but their cars were totaled because of it. They have all been scary experiences for us as we are a small school and we all know each other well.

I wish that I could say that these accidents make kids pay more attention, but too many seem to just continue driving too fast, too distracted, and get involved in accidents of all sorts. For me, I try to be extra careful when I have passengers riding with me. I don’t text or answer my cellphone while I am driving. If I know that the roads aren’t good due to our Minnesota weather, I leave extra early and drive slowly if needed or even alter my plans to not have to drive anywhere.

Some of the steps I can take to be a safer driver include always wearing my seatbelt and ensuring that any passengers I have are as well, avoid any distractions such as my phone or the radio. I should also make sure to follow all traffic laws and speed limits, make sure to use turn signals, stay a safe distance from any cars in front of me and make sure to check my blind spots. One other thing I can do is to make sure I stay calm and collected while driving, and don’t get angry or aggressive at my surroundings.

Some ways that I can help others stay safer on the road include encouraging my friends and family to drive safely and show them how to do so through my example. I should also make sure that I don’t let anyone under the influence of drugs or alcohol get behind the wheel. If I see anyone doing so or doing any other type of dangerous or reckless behavior, I should either try and get them to stop, or if it is too bad contact the proper authorities to come and handle the situation so the person doesn’t injure themselves or anyone else around them. These are just some of the ways we can work to keep everyone out on the roads safer and be comfortable with driving.