
Name: Louise Barrios
From: Mount Pleasant, MI
Votes: 19
Driver’s Education: Driving on the Defense and the Offense
Distracted driving or negligence while driving has had an enormous impact on today’s driving world. Driver’s education can help to teach drivers, both new and old, how to not only drive safely, but what they should do if someone else is not driving safe or there is inclement weather. Driver’s education covers topics such as driving in snow, and what to do if you spin out or hit a patch of black ice. They cover how one should drive around semis and trains. The instructors teach students how the cars operate, the basics of the structure of a car and what to do in an emergency. Driver’s education gives students the opportunity to practice on the road in a controlled environment, before driving on their own. Driver’s education teaches basic skills while emphasizing the importance of driving vigilantly, to help reduce the number of deaths because of driving.
The biggest step that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is driving vigilantly. Always watching your surroundings, whether that be scanning the area for people and animals, checking blind spots before merging, or checking the weather before leaving to plan for the drive. Driving vigilantly means to not be on the phone, whether that’s texting, talking, or looking at social media. Many people believe that it is acceptable to check one’s phone while stopped at a light or stop sign or utilize their phone via Bluetooth or a wireless connection. Though when doing that, your full attention is not on the driving world. You are distracted, thinking about what you’re going to say to the person you are talking to or drafting your response text. The road is a dangerous place, and we must always be watching and prepared as much as possible for any scenario.
While I had my driver’s permit for the 2nd half of the driver’s education program offered in my county, I had gotten into an accident. I had been driving less than 10 miles per hour due to the known road conditions, having possible black ice in patches along my intended travel path. While driving, I had spun out on a patch of black ice because of how large it was, and my vehicle did not have any traction on the road because of the ice. My nosedived into a ditch before rolling 3 times and ultimately ending upside down. Now when the accident was happening, my mind was racing, I was unsure of what to do, but I had remembered what was taught in driver’s education and kept my foot off the brake and gas, while steering the car in the direction I needed it to go. While that did not stop the accident from happening, I believe that it was because of driver’s education that I had been able to remain calm, practice what I was taught, and immediately go through the process of notifying 911 as soon as we had stopped moving. I have been in several accidents growing up, whether it was the fault of the weather, another person’s driving, or my parents driving. If I see that someone is driving distracted, I will slow my pace behind them or I will follow behind them until I must get off the road from behind them to watch for them. If I see them stop at a rest stop or a gas station, I like to make it a point to approach them and tell them they shouldn’t be on their phone while driving, because of the dangers it can cause. Most people are accepting of the critique, but occasionally, people have an attitude and tell me to mind my business, which usually results in me telling them I would mind my business if they can make the road a safer place to drive.
While driving on the road, I make it a practice to keep my phone on my passenger seat or in my center console to keep me from having the urge to pick it up. I like to practice safe driving habits while in inclement weather. If I do not feel safe while driving or comfortable at the speed I am going, even in sunny and 75 degrees, I will move to the slowest moving lane if possible and slow down to a speed I feel comfortable at, while ensuring that I do not impede traffic. If I feel that I must go significantly slower than the speed limit, I will put my hazards on while driving to warn the other drivers around me or pull off on the road completely until I feel that it is safe enough to drive. Conversation is limited between myself and the passengers in the vehicle while I am driving so, I can place all my concentration on the road and its surroundings. Growing up, I have family members with serious road rage, so once I was able to drive and I would see them growing angry and driving in an unsafe manner, I would tell them that I will be taking over driving until they can gather their emotions to drive safe again.