Safe Driving Saves Lives

Driver’s education, as much as we take it for granted, is one of the most critical areas of education to have as an adult in the twenty-first century. This class allowed me to get the real practice I needed to drive safely and confidently by the time I was old enough for a license. In my course, I learned a lot of the basics like understanding traffic signals, maintaining speed, and the functions of the car. In addition to these basics, I learned even more useful skills like right of way, defensive driving, and how to control the vehicle in cases of abnormal or dangerous weather. Even though I am a naturally cautious driver, this class taught me a lot about the responsibilities and challenges of operating a vehicle. What I enjoyed most about this course was that I got to study from a textbook before practicing in one of the school cars. My parents made sure to teach me the basics, but like most working adults, they became busy and could not give me adequate practice time. Fortunately, my Driver’s Education course filled in all the gaps, and I aced my driving exam on the first try. Driving irresponsibly is one of the leading causes of death in America, and most of the reasons behind these fatalities are speeding, road rage, improper turns, and not using a seatbelt. On top of that, being distracted is a common factor in driver deaths, especially from texting while driving and driving under the influence. Each of these irresponsible habits could be easily corrected with a comprehensive driver’s education course.

One of my most traumatic experiences with irresponsible driving was after a college tour during high school. On our way back home, our bus driver took the chance not to drive responsibly, altering our lives forever. About halfway through the trip back home, we were coming towards a stop sign at a terribly busy intersection and the driver showed no signs of stopping. As our driver eventually ran the stop sign, he noticed he would not make it across before the oncoming traffic, so he slammed on the brakes as a white SUV collided into the side of our bus. Thankfully, there were no fatalities, but there were several severe injuries to many of my classmates as well as the driver of the SUV. I had to go to physical therapy for a long time just to be able to turn my neck fully or walk without any pain. A friend of mine suffered from a concussion. We all left with unnecessary emotional trauma. I always wonder how much better that day would have been had our driver simply obeyed traffic laws.

Now that I am in college, I still take pride in driving safely and paying attention to my surroundings. My career aspiration is to be a professional dancer, meaning my body and my well-being are my top priorities in life. If I were to be involved in a severe crash, my career would be completely over from the injuries, and I would have to say goodbye to my hopes and dreams. One of my biggest rules while driving is to never be in a rush. The anxiety of being in a rush can cause speeding, distractedness, and in some cases aggressive driving. Just a few seconds of distraction mixed with speeding could mean the end of my life or someone else’s, and that is a heavy and serious responsibility. No matter the consequence of being late, nothing is worth causing a fatal crash.

The easiest ways to reduce deaths related to driving are to slow down, know where you are going prior to leaving, and be courteous to others on the road. Driving safely is becoming increasingly uncommon in our fast-paced society, but I would much rather be a few minutes late for work and healthy instead of in the hospital dealing with injuries. I personally believe that if the government required all citizens to retake the driver’s exam every few years, many people would have to get serious about driving safely. I also believe that the penalties for driving under the influence should be much worse. As of right now, in the state of Alabama, the consequence of driving under the influence is a year in prison or a minimum six hundred dollar fine. For a first-time offense, your license will also more than likely be suspended, but only for ninety days. Even though these penalties are bad, it does not seem to be enough of an incentive for drivers to drive responsibly. Many people need to drive to get to work, especially in cities that are not walkable or have no access to public transportation. If their ability to drive was treated as more of a privilege than it is right now, more people would take their driving habits more seriously. I believe if the stakes were much higher, people would hesitate much more before making a terrible decision like that. Overall, everyone deserves to feel safe on the road. Driving safely might get old, but so will the people who practice it.