Driver Education Initiative – We are Fast, but not Furious

Micaiah
Jones

College
Scholarship

6
October 2019

We
are Fast but not Furious

I
have been fortunate enough to grow up with the socioeconomic status
that exposed me to the convenience and privilege being a car owner. I
believe that, as it is with many of my peers, when you grow up in
that privilege you can lose sight of the responsibility that it pairs
with. The now normalized access to a vehicle is so amazing, but it
has opened a new world to possible dangers. I was only 6 years old
when I had my first experience in a car accident. I was driving with
my older sister in the back seat buckled. I remember we were driving
down to North Carolina for her gymnastics meet and we giggled what
felt like the entire time. On the drive back up the east coast to
Maryland everything was going smoothly until there was a world
altering crash that made our antics negligible. My mother had been
distracted while cruising on the highway, we had slammed fully into
the black SUV that was directly in front of us. I was scared. Apart
from the emotional trauma of the event I had also acquired trauma
induced scoliosis. I didn’t notice immediately because of the shock
of it all but in the coming days my neck was painfully craned towards
my lap and I was unable to lift it higher than an inch. With this
experience I have an unusual sensitivity to the topic of safe
driving. However, I am hoping that by writing essays like this one it
can become a little less unusual for others.

A
lot of times people drive recklessly because they believe that
“nothing will ever happen to me”- no one ever thinks it is going
to be them, but with a greater emphasis on education cultivating a
safer driving culture that can change. How can people truly be held
accountable for their actions when there are no sources for educating
them. There are 18 states in America that do not enforce mandatory
drivers ed for its citizens. This fact alone is very disheartening
given that there are on average 3,287 lives lost to road accidents
everyday(ASIRT). Whether it be from road sign knowledgeability or
statistical research the standard for knowing and applying that
education should no longer be neglected. If someone is uneducated
they put everyone at a significantly higher risk than they otherwise
would be. They are unaware of how their actions affect others and
that is the most dangerous aspect of driving. With education people
can deliberately take the necessary measures to prevent fatalities.

This
safety issue is now everyone’s responsibility; it involves:
engineers, law-makers, police, teachers, and the people. The steps we
need to take look like designing more car models that have active
noise cancellation and phone-locking ignitions. Although, it is
apparently no longer enough to solely institute bans and laws, they
ought to be made more punitive, anyone that protest it has been
disserviced in their education of just how destructive poor operation
of a vehicle can be and need to be more thoroughly informed.

As
for my own personal actions I hope to always practice turning my
phone off before I start my car. Whenever I feel tired I will find an
alternative mode of transportation. And I will continue educating
others about the importance of safe driving habits.

• What
  steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help
  others become safer on the road?

OUTLINE:

1. My
   experience on the road(Have
   you ever had an experience of being in a car accident or have seen
   your friends or family members driving irresponsibly?)

2. Why
   being education correlates to safety(Importance
   of drivers ed for reducing deaths )