Select Page

2024 Driver Education Round 2 – Do Not Be a Bystander to Reckless Driving

Name: Makenzie Hamilton
From: McGregor, TX
Votes: 15

Do Not Be a Bystander to Reckless Driving

The main concern for all drivers is not being able to trust everyone on the road with them. This worry is valid because most car crashes could be prevented yet continue to happen at a large rate. The process to reduce deaths from car crashes begins with the commitment to being always dedicated to safe driving.

Currently, driving is viewed as a necessity, which comes with many positive additions to people’s lives. However, when driving is abused, there are devastating outcomes that impact way more people than just the one individual who chooses to drive recklessly. The continuation of dangerous driving also means the perpetuation of deaths from car crashes and grief among family members and friends who are faced with a life taken too early. Driver education teaches students safe driving skills before they are allowed to drive legally to prevent car crashes and save lives. This ensures that safety is maintained on roads. When I was learning to drive, my father taught me that cars should be regarded as moving death traps. While this idea may seem extreme, this mindset taught me to regard driving as a serious responsibility that should be handled wisely. The number of deaths from car crashes proves my father’s way of thinking about driving to be reasonable. The purpose of driver education is to teach students the necessary procedures for different scenarios that drivers will face. Driver education serves the role of informing all drivers on the lessons required to keep themselves, their passengers, and all other drivers alive. Driver education should be taken very seriously because, unlike other topics, remembering and following the information presented by driver education could be the difference between life and death.

In contrast to the goals of driver education, an idea that should not be accepted, yet many believe, is that reckless driving is a common phase of life along with being a teenager. This causes a culture where people already plan on not following all laws that are established to allow safe driving before they even receive their license. For example, high school parking lots are a main environment where harmful driving practices are seen. Several students constantly drive with more people than is allowed in the car for their age, race each other to destinations, speed out of my school’s gravel parking lot causing their car to spin, and drive without a permit or license. Witnessing these terrible driving practices is an extremely scary experience. Along with this is an even more terrifying thought, these same drivers and reckless actions are not contained in a parking lot, but venture to all roads where these drivers pose a threat to everybody. The reason that the problem of reckless driving persists is that not enough people act against dangerous driving.

In addition to the negative driving practices commonly seen in my school’s parking lot, every action, such as checking a text message, not wearing a seat belt, running red lights and stop signs, and drunk driving has the power to take someone’s life. Normalizing any of these actions as facts that cannot be changed causes unsafe driving to continue. Steps that should be taken to prevent the number of deaths from driving are to take all driving laws seriously and speak up against people who do not follow safety rules. A current issue is that too often people do not face consequences for their harmful driving until someone else has been forced to pay for the driver’s terrible decisions with their life. Ways that people can improve themselves as drivers and can promote safe driving by others are to not ride with people who are not following a law and to make plans for all car rides, so that people are not tempted to drive illegally and can maintain the safest conditions possible for each trip. This will limit the amount of people who drive with too many people, drive without a license, drive without a permit, or drive under the influence. Confronting the driver when a situation seems out of control and dangerous could be the moment that saves the passengers’ or other drivers’ lives. Practicing all these steps will save lives by reducing the number of deaths from dangerous driving and will help create an environment where safe driving is prioritized among all drivers.

Hundreds of car crashes can be prevented. Small changes, such as not making any exceptions to safety rules when driving can have huge benefits. Following all driving laws will stop people from being killed before it is too late and will play an influential role in forming a culture where safety is maintained on roads.