Name: Hannah Crumbacher
From: Mooresville, IN
Votes: 0
Imagine
if
Imagine if suddenly 1.25 million
people disappeared, vanished. Imagine if you never got to see your
teenage child again. Imagine if he never made it home because of a
drunk driver. 1.25 million people, the population size of Maine, die
on the road every year. Road safety is something that we don’t
think about – until it is too late.
Where
to start? There are 225 million licensed drivers in the United
States. Every year the number increases when new drivers come on the
road. The best place to start is with those incoming drivers.
Drivers ed is crucial to road safety and saving lives. To
ensure new drivers are safe, they need to be given the proper
training. According to the article, 7
Benefits of Drivers ed Courses
by Rachel Despres, teenage drivers that take Drivers Ed learn
mechanical knowledge, rules of the road, consequences of drunk
driving, defensive driving techniques, responsibility, confidence,
and much more. Taking a drivers ed course will help to
protect lives by reducing detrimental behavior through education.
Twenty
eight percent of driving related deaths are from driving while under
the influence. Despres says in her article, “It’s one thing to
tell your teenaged son or daughter not to drink and drive. It is
another thing entirely for your teen to sit through a devastating
series of videos that show the destruction and consequences caused by
drunk driving or people driving while under the influence of drugs.”
Through drivers ed, students are deterred when they see the
havoc and pain drunk driving causes.
The
drivers ed web site says, “if you’re talking or texting,
your eyes and mind aren’t on the road.” Drivers aren’t focused on
the road while on a phone. It’s the most common way to get into a
crash. Drivers Ed students are warned and learn the devastating
consequences of using technology while driving.
Lastly,
through drivers ed, young drivers gain confidence. Without
confidence in knowledge and skill it is nearly impossible to drive
safely. With confidence based on knowledge, drivers will drive
safely. Drivers ed helps tremendously with boosting
confidence. According to a study done by University of Nebraska,
“Young drivers who have not completed drivers education are … 24
percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident and
16 percent more likely to have an accident.”
Imagine
if we had 24 percent greater chance of survival. Imagine if you could
trust those driving around you. Imagine if more people came home
alive. Start by taking action. Imagination sparks a dream, and a
dream sparks reality.
