On the Safety of Driving

Driver education can increase the knowledge of the driver on what to do in certain incidents, how to handle certain situations, and what to look for in case of emergency. Knowledge beforehand is always better than thinking on your feet, which might end up causing more problems than solving them; one step forward, two steps back. An uneducated driver may not know when something looks wrong with the road, or what certain signs mean, while an educated driver can know the conditions which may cause some roads to be dangerous, and, for example, what the different color patterns of signs mean. This can lead to more knowledge in the general population, with safety being a primary concern and not how fast you can get somewhere. Some steps to be taken to reduce driving related deaths include checking one’s car to see if there are any leaks or other mishaps, like a fuel line that is broken, a tail light that is out, or maybe even a bumper that’s just held on by tape. Of course, that’s only outside of the car. While driving, a good driver should always use their signals, drive within five to seven miles per hour of the speed limit, and watch very closely for anything that could go awry, like deer being close to the side of a road, using their high-beams in a very dark and secluded area, not using their high-beams regularly to preserve the vision of others and the battery of their car, among other things. I have not been in a car crash or any accident of the sort, thankfully, but I have seen my family members either drive irresponsibly or take shortcuts that may or may not be strictly legal. For example, one of my family members accidentally took the wrong turn on an intersection in a country web of roads, and, since nobody was around, they turned hard and drove over two corners of the intersection, into the grass, and went on the correct way, in the stead of finding somewhere to take a U-turn. I said nothing at the time, because I was very young (and frankly stupid). However, it did feel interesting to off-road the family van for a couple seconds. Another family member let me ride in the back of their truck while we drove around the neighborhood, albeit slowly, as to avoid me becoming a thin red paste on the road. This clearly felt wrong, even though I was at a young age, but I didn’t necessarily care, as I was having fun and the breeze felt really nice in the hot, summery feel of that one day in July. The steps I can take to become a better and safer driver is to practice with more odd driving styles, like when the steering column is on the right instead of the left, where everyone drives on the left side of the road and not the right side of the road, and the right turn becomes the most dangerous turn instead of the left turn being the most dangerous turn. Another way I can improve my driving safety for myself, those in the car, and those outside of the car, is to study some of the stranger driving experiences, like left-turn-only lanes, and roundabouts, which are uncommon in my area, as well as practicing backing up and parallel parking, both for parking in parking lots and basically anywhere else. I could also take some of my own advice and try to stay vigilant about my turn signals, as I forget rarely but I should not ever forget, as well as gradually begin to study what each and every sign style, type, color, color pattern, and symbol pattern is, means, represents, and in what situations are they most important, because I do not remember a lot of that from my own driving lessons that occurred in the summer before the pandemic. Therefore, a lot could be done about helping the act of driving become safer for all people involved, including the driver, the pedestrian, and the passenger. Some such things include being more knowledgeable about the details put into the roads around us, being less lenient on our GPS’s, knowing the rules of the road, for example, using the turn signal when needed, and knowing that safety is always better than speed. These suggestions, as well as the ones mentioned in other essays that will be submitted for this scholarship, will undoubtedly help driving as a whole become safer for all involved.