Name: Andrew Aultman
From: Grant, Alabama
Votes: 0
Every
day I sit in the driver’s seat. Do I understand the gravity of the
situation? Am I taking my role seriously? In that seat I have the
power to end my life or the lives of others. Understanding this, have
I taken the precautions and preparations to sit in the driver’s
seat? I believe that the drivers ed course that was available
to me in my high school helped me immensely.
Driver
education is so very important in preventing driving deaths because
it instills the good habits of safe driving: look both ways, come to
a complete stop, use signal lights (to name a few). Drivers ed
also warns new drivers of other concerns like mirror orientation,
weather conditions, and more. It is for these reasons that driver
education should be available to all.
All
states should require a drivers ed course be taken before
getting a permit. This course should be offered at schools, community
centers, or other convenient locations. After every year, licensees
should have to take an online course to reinforce and restore safe
driving knowledge.
This
subject affects me on a personal level. A friend of mine and fellow
senior, Eli Spray, passed away on November 1st
of this year. He died on his way to school on a Friday morning when
he collided with a wrecker truck that was backing out of a driveway.
He was speeding and was not paying attention to the road. This death
affected so many people. Not just his immediate family, but his
school family and the whole community of Grant, Alabama. I pray that
no other family, school or community has to go through the painful
experience that my school went through. Educated driving touches me
on a deeper level now. That is why I am passionate about this
scholarship and its message.
To be a
better driver, I can- of course- follow these habits and rules that I
have mentioned throughout this essay. But I can also revisit driver
education curriculum to reinforce my knowledge and change my habits
and adopt new ones. As the oldest brother of four other siblings that
are beginning to drive, it is so extremely vital that I drive
responsibly and safely. I should do this to keep them safe and model
good driving for them. At this point in my life, driving death
awareness and responsible driving education are very close to my
heart.
