Name: Jane Zou
From: Irvine, CA
Votes: 0
I
learned that regardless of the details of driving, the main
expectation for new and young drivers is that they obey the literal
law, including traffic laws. Using common sense while driving and
courtesy to those around and within the vehicle optimize the safety
of everyone involved. Drivers ed prepares inexperienced
drivers for the road by instilling the content of what to do in a
situation into the driver’s memory. This experience changed my
perspective on driving because although my father is a car
enthusiast, the uprise in technology like autonomous vehicles is
fascinating to him.
At
a four-way intersection, you make eye contact with a driver arriving
at the same time from another branch (turn signal still on from their
previous turn). He/she implies for you to go first because you intend
to go straight. You yielded to other drivers before this encounter.
Yet, the driver instead chose to charge forward, t-boning your car in
the middle of the intersection. You could have avoided this situation
if the other driver turned off their turn signal and made it clear
he/she intended to go straight as well. Yielding for a few extra
seconds would possibly aggravate the drivers at other branches or
behind your vehicle. After the emergency, you use momentum to pull
over to the side of the road outside the intersection, and
immediately call 911 if you or the other driver are injured. Turn on
your hazard lights to warn other drivers that you are in an emergency
situation and are not driving further.
You
are driving up a hill on the way to work, and the speed limit for
each curve is listed on road signs. On the other side of the hill, a
school bus full of children is in front of your car, and you hit the
bus and/or the children head-on on your way downhill. You obeyed all
the speed and appropriate precaution warnings going up the hill. Upon
seeing the bus, you were braking immediately, but the car’s kinetic
energy converting to heat energy overpowered friction. In this
situation, the only way to avoid hitting any children or the bus is
to keep ahold of the brake while driving over the center of the hill.
Depending on how far the bus was from the hill’s top, shift the
vehicle to lower gears and continue to drive slowly, switching lanes
appropriately. In the case of hitting any children or endangering
children by hitting a bus, immediately call 911 and pull over to the
side of the road. Park with the front wheels facing the curb or the
side of the road. Now, call the bus company or school district
informing them of the accident. If at all possible, drive further
down the hill to avoid a similar situation by another unknowing
driver.
It
has been a long finals week, and you are barely able to keep your
eyes awake driving home from the school library. The soft raindrops
falling are soothing, but all traffic lights and tail lights are
blinding and smeared with water from your windshield view. Without
realizing it, you ran a red-light because you thought it was a
continuation of another driver’s tail light, running into another
car’s bumper head-on prematurely. You could have avoided this
situation by recognizing that you were tired, and instead of driving,
ask a friend or public transportation to take you home instead.
Although the bad weather could delay or lull you further to sleep,
repeatedly wiping off the windshield would provide a clear view if
you were not tired. Driving slowly enough to spot the red-light and
differentiate it from a tail light would prevent the situation
entirely. Running into another bumper is dangerous because it could
cause a chain reaction if the drivers behind are also unaware. From
your position, pull the car over and call your insurance company or
911 informing them of the accident. Turn on the hazard lights so
other drivers can see the accident scene without exacting the same
mistake. While waiting, if it would take too long for a tow to come,
get some rest to compensate for your tiredness.
As
accidents and collisions often stem from human error, eliminating the
human element from driving could be the future of transportation.
Until then, Drivers ed prepares drivers to avoid such human
error by informing them of the rules such that when an accident does
occur, the law enforcement officer already knows the driver is aware
of the law.
