In the Driver’s Seat

Around 115 million Americans get in a car and drive each day. This means that daily there are about 115 million deadly machines being operated at high speeds on streets all around the United States. This can be incredibly dangerous especially since even if one person is following rules and practicing safe driving, the person next to them might not; therefore, putting everyone in the vicinity in danger. Evidence from DMVEdu shows that an average of 34,000 Americans die each year due to motor vehicle accidents. With proper education being spread throughout America, the numbers of drivers who practice driving safely will hopefully increase.

The number one thing that can help bring down the dangers of driving is making sure that every person who gets behind the wheel of a vehicle is properly educated on what they should do to get from point A to point B in the safest way possible. I took a Driver’s Education course before I received my license, and I was educated not only on the proper procedures of how to operate a motor vehicle but also, I was informed about the risks and was told stories that helped me realize how real the dangers are. I feel that this information is neccesary to anyone who drives and if more people were provided with this information the roads could become a safer place for everyone.

That being said, there are steps that can be taken to make driving safer and a less deadly activity: proper education before being granted a license, videos being shown to each person who receives a license showing the effects of dangerous driving and spreading the word about drivers’ education programs. While each person who recieves a license is required to take an online course that is supposed to teach them how to drive, I believe that this is not enough to ensure the safety of others, especially given how dangerous driving is. I believe that physical instruction from a professional driving instructor is necessary to ensure the safety of all drivers on the road. At my drivers’ education class, we were taught half the day in the classroom and the other half of the day outside in the student driver cars. In the classroom we were shown videos of people who had been in accidents that changed their life due to their own recklessness or someone else’s. The people in the videos all say, “I never thought it would happen to me.” Many people think this until it actually happens to them. This is why it is so crucially important that everyone who gets behind the wheel understands the risks and I think that if these videos were shown to every driver, it would change the way many people drive. If word is spread about these programs that are meant to help drivers become safer on the road, I think that more people would participate, ultimately lowering the number of deaths every year due to driving.

I personally have never been in a car accident; however, I have witnessed accidents while driving and know kids from my school who have been in accidents due to the poor choices that they made. Thankfully, the people I know who have been in accidents came out with no injuries, however the same cannot be said about their vehicles. This has made the risks of irresponsible driving even more apparent to me and helps me take my actions into consideration when I am riding in a car or driving one. Most of my friends practice safe driving while I am riding with them because they know that their number one job is to transport us to our destination in the safest way possible. With that being said, not everyone is perfect, and I have some friends who may pick up their phone while driving or do other actions that could take their attention away from the road. When this happens while I am in the car with them, I will offer my help so they do not feel the need to use their phone and I can complete the task for them.

The steps that I take to ensure that I drive in the safest way possible are to make sure my phone is on “do not disturb’ to avoid distraction from any notifications or phone calls, avoid driving any person who may distract me while I am driving and if I am driving someone, ask them to do their best to not distract me in any way, and while I am driving be constantly scanning for hazards on the road that could put me or my passengers in danger. If I continue to follow these steps along with everyone else, we can make the roads a safer place for everyone.