Name: Caroline Elizabeth Pruden
From: Sumter, SC
Votes: 0
I think everyone should be educated on how to be a safe driver
because there is never a guarantee that the other driver is a safe
driver. I went to driving school, sat through an 8-hour lecture and
power-point, and had private driving lessons until my parents and my
instructors felt I was ready. Some parents prefer to teach their
children themselves about safety maneuvers and useful driving skills.
The form does not matter, but the execution is essential. I should
worry about my own ability to drive safely before worrying about what
other drivers are doing.
I think that fear does work as a tactic of reform. I think telling
people not to drive tired or use their phone is not nearly as
effective as showing videos or graphic images of the consequences of
distractions and poor decisions. During the power-point, my class was
showed an image of a person lying face down on the side of the road.
Their brain was located an estimated two feet away from their body. I
choose to be a safe driver simply because I do not want to be the
reason why my or anyone else’s brains are catapulted out of their
skull.
I am very fortunate to have never been in a car accident, but my
friends have done careless things to their cars and I have friends
who have had careless actions taken against their cars by other
drivers. I am actually surprised that I have not been in a car
accident considering the statistics. I have also noticed that in my
town, the bad drivers outweigh the good ones because they do not care
about the punishment. I have sped through a few red lights myself,
but being trailed by a car that is swerving back and forth at night
is far scarier. I am not a perfect driver, but I consider the results
of my actions before I act the majority of the time because I want to
have enough room to stop if someone slams on their breaks or if they
try to ride my bumper.
I listen to music when I drive because it calms me down when I am in
bad traffic or witness a bad driver putting a life in danger. I think
music can be a distraction for some people. Distractions differ for
each person, but locating them and eliminating them is probably one
of the safest ways to prevent causing an accident. I think abiding by
the laws is mostly okay except in certain situations where you need
to speed up or slow down so you do not wreak havoc. Most importantly,
as I mentioned in a previous paragraph, being selfish about it is
okay. Thinking about the damage you can cause yourself physically and
financially plus what family and friends will think can stop most
people from following through with poor decisions. There is no
perfect system for stopping bad driving, but improvements can always
be made, too.
