Freedom and Responsibility

Since a very young age, I remember how much I wanted to learn to drive. When I was 6,7 years of age, I would get into the driver’s side of the car and pretend I was driving down streets and highways. When I got older, I would beg my parents, uncles, and grandfathers to let me touch the wheel somehow. Like a lot of young kids, I just wanted to drive so badly. Driving a car just seemed like the coolest thing in the world. I imagined all the places I would drive to, the friends that would be in my car. I even imagined that I would somehow have some hot, state-of-the-art car. Thankfully, I do not have a tragic story, but just experiences that I think a lot of young people feel and often contributes to the fear of driving. Once I hit my teen years, I began driving in cars with my friends. It seemed that they were all getting their licenses before me or at least allowed to drive a car with or without licenses. I believe this is where my feelings began to change. Many of my friends, who were mostly self-taught, or parent taught to drive were not responsible drivers. I would get in their cars because I wanted to experience that freedom and just be with my friends. However, a lot of my friends drove very dangerously and irresponsibly. Some of my friends would drive upwards to 100 mph and almost always under the influence of alcohol or some other substance. I never got into a wreck with any of them by some miracle, but quite a few got into accidents. Some were major and some minor. Slowly, I just became more fearful of the thought driving and no longer had the desire to learn to drive. I

My parents needed me to get my license, so I could help with taking my brother to school and to take myself to baseball practices amongst other errands that were sometimes needed. I expressed to my parents how I felt about driving and how my desire to learn had changed. I remember my mother explaining to me that I would be taking a driving course and that together she would help me overcome some of these fears. I knew that my friends were just irresponsible, but somehow, I was fearful that I would be the same way. I realized that driving a car was like having a weapon in my hands and I would be responsible for not just myself, but others as well.

From the beginning, I loved the driver’s education course. The information, the videos, and the instructors that I had helped me to gain confidence in my driving skills. It was strange because I could almost see some of my friends in the videos that were shown in classes. The classes were easy, calming and very self-paced to my comfort level. I felt that I could understand exactly why and what was needed to be a safe, defensive driver. However, when it came to the actual driving, I struggled. My fears continued. When I say that my instructor helped gain my confidence. I meant it. He helped me through my fears and then my parents helped to support that. Overtime, I got better with driving and then I was finally able to take my driving test and I passed with ease. I remember thinking to myself I finally have the freedom to drive on my own and go where I want. However, I also remember the overwhelming responsibility that I now had to keep not only myself, but other safe too. Today, I would say that I am not a perfect driver, but I make every effort to drive like my life and everyone around me whether in my car or in their own depends on it.

I will not state a lot of statistics here, but I will say that it is common sense that if you do not take driving seriously and be careful and defensive that it could eventually catch up to you. I feel that driver education for everyone before they take their test is a perfect way to lay the foundation of keeping drivers, passengers, and those you encounter on the roads safe. It seems that there is not a lot done to remind drivers to drive safely and defensively. It seems that every driver could benefit from taking refresher courses every few years can help to bring reminders to individuals about driving safely and defensively. I do feel for myself that it is a practice I hope and plan to continue. I don’t want to be the one to just take defensive driving to reduce or remove tickets. Rather, I would prefer to take these courses to prevent a tragedy from happening.