A War in the Roads

The statistics on driver deaths is shocking and extremely ominous especially for those who tend to ignore these numbers. Driver education is a necessity in order to create and sustain a safe driving environment. Increasing the quality of driver education can allow for safer roads that can combat the increasing trend in driver deaths. Driver’s education is boring especially when done online, but every person needs to know the fundamentals of the road and the vehicle that they are operating. In California, it is required to have 30 hours or 2 and a half semesters of classroom instruction or a home study done online. With these driver education programs, students will learn these fundamentals such as speed limits, the right of way, roundabouts, yielding, lines, and more. However, from personal experience, it is easy to forget these lessons learned from driver’s ed classes and drive as if it were second nature. I see it all the time on the road, where people drive with reckless abandon and with no regard for the safety of others and more importantly, themselves.

Education is the most significant factor in reducing the number of driving related deaths. Every driver has to know the risks that they are taking each time they start up their vehicle. Drivers must understand the importance of safe driving habits such as monitoring speed, utilizing mirrors, and maintaining a safe following distance. Outside of the vehicle, individuals must also be aware of the substances that they ingest. A study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association highlights that 13,384 people were victims of a drunk driving accident in 2021. This was a 14% increase from 2020 and about a 3,000 victim increase over a 10 year period from 2012 to 2021. As much as the fundamentals of safe driving need to be valued, impaired driving must be emphasized twice as much. Poor driving habits cause accidents, impaired driving causes deaths.

I have not been a part of a car accident, however, I have seen others experience near fatal to fatal auto accidents. The impacts that these accidents have on those involved are devastating and it can lead to a person’s life being changed in the blink of an eye. It is scary to me and it should be in the back of any driver’s mind. A car accident is something that should be taken with extreme seriousness and it is something that I hope would not happen to anyone. A car accident can threaten a person’s life, which is why I pride myself on being a skilled, knowledgeable, and incredibly safe driver because I understand the implications of what may happen if I were to irresponsibly operate a vehicle. When I know I am going to be in an environment where alcohol or drugs are involved, I make sure to either have a designated driver around with me or I give myself the task of being the designated driver because I do not want my friends to risk their lives or the lives of others due to impaired driving.

I pledge to be the safest driver that I can possibly be. After seeing the statistics on fatal car accidents, I believe that it has opened my eyes on the real risks that I am taking every day, even for short drives that I would consider as “routine”. It is important to go slow in a fast environment because I need to be able to react to the situations given. Going slow in a fast environment means not to drive so slow that I am holding up the traffic, but to be able to drive at a rate that can increase my safety on the road. Driving is a serious situation and topic. I will be responsible for the safety of myself and others on the road and I will ensure that every person that I am around is a safe driver. I have no choice but to drive safe and be sober while behind the wheel so that I can be here for my friends, family, and my future family. If I am late to class or a function, I simply just have to accept that reality and not recklessly drive. If I know I will be drinking, I will not drive. If I have passengers in the car, I will drive with caution and responsibility so that they can get home safely. This is my pledge and I hope that the world can take the same pledge one day. I’ve lost people from reckless driving and I’ve heard stories of people taking the innocent lives of others because they were speeding. The road is a place where everyone is relying on each other to be responsible and one irresponsible person can greatly impact the lives of others. The daunting reality of these statistics is that those affected had no way to control the actions of others. Driving on the road shouldn’t have higher death rates as wars, driver’s education is the first step towards creating a safe driving environment.