Name: Kaitlyn Sinclair
From: Colorado Springs , Colorado
Votes: 0
Drivers
education for teens into adulthood is extremely important, especially
in our growing society. When learning how to drive you need to know
not only laws but you need to experience driving in different
situations.
Knowing
the need for knowledge and experience is why drivers ed is so
imperative. When going in to receive your permit you must read a
manual; this explains driving laws. This part of drivers ed may
not seem as important to teenagers as they’re forcing themselves to
study this manual but in the long run it makes an impact. Even at 17
years old I come into situations while driving where I have to ask
myself, what do I do? The permit test has helped me immensely from
making minor to deadly mistakes. I can sit for a second and refer
back to my instructors advice and information asked on my permit test
and it helps me decide the right thing to do. As well as learning
information on the permit test, the drivers test helped just as much.
When I first took my drivers test I freaked out. I came upon a left
turn and I had no idea what to do past the panic. The knowledge I
received from my instructor with left hand turns as well as the
information received about stops signs and various other little
things, have made a big impact in my driving. If I hadn’t learned
these things while going through my drivers ed I might have
made these mistakes alone and it may have turned fatal.
I
think the biggest mistake while driving is being distracted. Even
though we get comfortable with driving that doesn’t necessarily
mean we’re actually good drivers and that doesn’t mean that when
you become more comfortable you can just ease up and not pay as much
attention. I personally have experienced a car accident due to
distraction. I was 16 and my friend was driving my car because I had
a few more days until I got my license. She was taking back roads
that I wasn’t familiar with and was going too fast. She distracted
herself for a short amount of time looking for music and by the time
we both looked up we were heading towards the end of a road with a
light pole and nowhere to go. I could’ve easily died that night if
we wouldn’t have hit the pole, we would’ve rolled and I might not
have come out okay. I think that making an emphasis on focused
driving could impact the amount of accidents. If people started
realizing that even a three second distraction could end your life
maybe they would start changing their habits and we could make an
impact on the deaths caused by driving accidents.
I
personally can take the steps of avoiding as many distracting things
as possible while driving. Phones, loud music, and even just the act
of looking for an item. While i’m passenger to someone else driving
I can help them stay off their devices by being the designated device
person and taking steps to be less distracting with music and
conversation.
I
think that until people realize how serious their small driving
habits can affect their rates of accidents then we will continue to
see fatal accidents. I think that people in our society have taken
their right to drive for granted. I think we need a change in
perspective and society.
