Name: Leah Donelson
From: Hilliard, Ohio
Votes: 0
The world that we know it to
be has changed. Cars have evolved and so have the drivers. Driving is
a staple that every teen learns as they become a 16-year-old.
However, driving has become very dangerous. Educating people about
driving can help to ensure that people learn what could happen if
they aren’t careful. According to NHTSA on Wikipedia, there are
more deaths caused by cars in 2012 than in the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan combined. As crazy as it sounds, driving has become more
dangerous than going into combat simply because others are dangerous
on the roads. Many distractions like phones, friends, other cars or
family members can create a chaotic environment for the driver. By
increasing awareness on drivers ed, it can help to minimize the
number of deaths associated with driving because of the knowledge
gained.
In order to reduce the number
of deaths related to driving, one would have to eliminate all of the
other possible distractions that are always present in the car. The
first thing that comes to mind is the cell phone. Most people now a
days have some kind of smart phone where they get all kinds of
notifications about everything going on in life. By creating a way
for drivers to ignore their phones and concentrate on the roads, many
deaths would never even happen. There’s also the factor of drugs
and alcohol. When people do those things, their minds become impaired
which causes them to not think properly or drive with a clear
conscious. Both of these scenarios are huge causes to deaths in
driving and by eliminating these factors, driving can become a much
safer method of transportation.
Lucky for me. I have never
been in a car accident. But I have almost been hit. In Hilliard,
there’s four roundabouts all right in a row. The city is trying to
spread the news about how to drive though roundabouts but many still
don’t know how to. Now being a teen driver, we learn this kind of
thing in drivers ed but the older drivers haven’t which is where
the struggle occurs. One lady almost ran right into my car as I was
going through the roundabout because she went to early. She could
have waited till I had cleared out of the way but she decided to gun
it and take the risk. Me being the defensive driver, I stopped and
avoided the accident.
That experience helped to show
me that anyone is subject to being a dangerous driver. I have learned
though my school as well as just driving that you must be careful and
always play the role of the defensive driver. As I continue to drive
for the years to come, I will try to not use my phone to play music
or to change the song at the moment. Even something as basic as
skipping a song or looking at a text can be the difference between
life and death.
