Name: Rahimah Baluch
From: Kenmore, Washington
Votes: 0
The number one cause
of death for teens in the United States of America is motor vehicle
related incidents. This statistic alone should show you the
importance of understanding the rules of the road.
Drivers ed as
a teen seems to appear to some as just a requirement of hours,
perhaps the student believes they don’t learn anything in the class
either. But in truth, drivers ed is one of the best ways of
preventing accidents from occurring on the road. We, as irresponsible
and unpredictable teens, will make mistakes. It is inevitable. Though
knowing how to prevent mistakes from happening will logically make
them less likely to happen. Once we know how to lock our cars,
there’s less of a chance of getting carjacked. Once we know how to
accelerate smoothly, there’s less of a chance of breaking our
parents backs when we lurch forward on the road. Once we learn how to
drive carefully, there’s less of a chance of death knocking on the
door of our recently purchased used Honda too early.
It’s important to
realize that without the required drivers ed more deaths
are bound to happen because we won’t understand how to operate a
vehicle properly. So to reduce the number of deaths, my expert
opinion says to take AND PASS at least one drivers ed
course (taking more than one is your choice). The next step is to
drive legally, which appears to be a hard one for many teens. You’d
think they wouldn’t drive their friends if they knew their license
would get suspended but clearly they need to be reminded. Driving a
vehicle legally will drastically reduce the risks of someone getting
in trouble with the law and more importantly, could save someone’s
life. By driving legally I mean obey the rules of the road- the rules
which you learn in drivers ed. This includes, but isn’t
limited to: DON’T drink and drive, DO turn on your headlights at
the appropriate time, DO wear a seatbelt, DON’T go over the speed
limit, etcetera, etcetera. Contradictory to popular belief, what you
learn in drivers ed is actually very useful.
Though I have never
been in a car accident myself, I live in constant fear of the driving
of my older sisters. I will never get used to my oldest sister
holding her phone in the palm of her hand while switching lanes on
the freeway or her making super sharp turns because of the excessive
speed the car is going. I feel like I need 2 seatbelts because my
sisters don’t seem afraid of anything. In truth, it isn’t worth
your life to send a text. Please wait until you get to your
destination to do anything remotely distracting.
As a driver, once
you get your license, you should be prepared to deal with anything.
Keeping your road rage in check will be the only issue that you have
to deal with because of inexperienced drivers on your route. There
are a few steps you should be aware of to keep everyone on the road,
including you, safe. Simply put, you should follow the laws in your
city, county, state, province, or country. But you should also
maintain your own level of safety. What this refers to is what YOU
specifically need to work on, whether that be putting your phone down
or getting enough sleep so you don’t nod off on the road.
So I think it’s
safe to say, I’ve covered all the bases. You can go and get your
license, but I would caution you to let your parents know you love
them before you head out.
