Preventing The Horrors of Dangerous Driving

Growing up as the youngest child of 3 and being the last to drive, I was blessed to have had numerous lessons on driving from both my father, as well as my older brother. My 26 year old brother has numerous jobs, and he often comes home extremely late. Consequently, he always informed me to never drive in the left lane past 12 AM, as there are people coming home from clubs intoxicated who entered the wrong way, driving on the wrong side of the road. No driving instructor or teacher had ever told me this information, but nonetheless, I listened to him, as he was eight years older than me.

This past October, I had concluded a fun day at Halloween Horror Nights at approximately 2:00 AM. I was a bit tired, but the energy drink that I had just finished 30 minutes prior to leaving the park was starting to kick-start my system. Now alert and ready to drop my friend off at her house, we departed the park. After getting onto the freeway, I started to merge into the leftmost lane, but stopped myself. Although I wanted to get home faster than usual, I recalled my brother’s words on staying on the right side of the empty freeways past late hours, as drunk drivers driving on the wrong side of the road are a prominent occurrence. Just as I changed lanes back to the lane second from the right, the scariest horror of that night came out of nowhere. 2 headlights were zooming down the freeway, approaching at about 100 miles per hour in the left lane that I was JUST driving in. I was appalled at what I saw, but nonetheless, I kept driving. Before dropping my friend off at her house, we discussed the situation we were just in. If I had ignored my brother’s constant lectures and stayed in the leftmost lane, we could’ve possibly had a head-on accident with a bigger SUV and died. We were so incredibly grateful for his remarks, and I even remember texting him when I got home about how his information saved my life.

Now, there are two underlying issues here. The first one, is of course, drunk driving. According to the United States Department of Transportation, 37 people die each day because of intoxication at the wheel. Additionally, ever since 2021, there have been over 13,000 deaths in America due to drunk driving. Moreover, these drunk drivers put both themselves and a stranger on the streets at risk. I am grateful to be alive today to tell my story; however, there has to have been someone else on that freeway behind me who’s life was put at risk. In order for there to be less deaths regarding intoxicated driving, there must be a stronger emphasis on the dangers of performing such an action, not only during a Drivers Education course but from driving instructors, parents, and schools. Moreover, ridesharing should be encouraged when one has ingested alcohol. These ridesharing companies such as Uber and Lyft were made not only to get people to places who don’t have a ride, but also to prevent drunk driving. Thus, I am hoping that Drivers Education courses will add more lessons on the dangers of driving intoxicated, as it is not stressed enough.

The other issue I would like to address is the lack of knowledge or street insight that may stem amongst many teenage drivers. If my brother didn’t inform me to avoid the leftmost lane past 12AM, my natural instincts to want to get home would’ve kicked in, and I would have been driving in the same lane as the car approaching me head on. Anyone else uninformed in a situation similar to mine might be dead, as it would’ve been very difficult to avoid a car coming your direction at 100 MPH, not knowing if their vehicle was going to swerve to hit you. Therefore, I affirm that the basics of driving should be taught well, but additional tips should be incorporated into Drivers Education to keep teenage drivers safer on the roads, as well as more aware of certain instances that might occur at random times. Certain aspects that I hope to be incorporated into Drivers Education include informing teenagers facts such as the rightmost lane being the slow lane or the left lane being the fast lane. Incorporation of smaller tips and roadside situations will help keep our roads safer for both the teeangers in this world and adults who have already been driving for a while.

Another person who has had a profound impact on my driver’s education is my dad. Although my dad claims to have been a reckless teenager who passed everyone up in his cherry red ‘92 Honda Prelude, he informs me of the dire circumstances that come with speeding. It is natural for a teen to want to “step on the gas”, but my dad had to learn the hard way that speed costs a fortune, especially after he totaled his first car and had to work hard to buy another one. Because of this situation, my dad was able to adopt habits that made him a safer driver; some habits that were never taught in Drivers Education. Firstly, he informed me to never stay driving in the merging lane, as many drivers tend to just look straight ahead and either go way below the speed limit or aggressively step on the gas, having no concern for the driver already there. This is dangerous because it is so easy to miscommunicate with another driver and lose control. Additionally, I was taught to never drive next to or near larger work trucks/trailers, as their parts may come loose and fall off. I actually experienced this when my dad was driving down the freeway on a family vacation in Providence, RI. We were about to merge into the lane second from the left, when, all of a sudden, a carpet fell out of the work truck’s cabin in front of us. In a flash, we aggressively toppled over the fallen carpet, nearly flipping over! It was a blessing that we were driving a 4WD SUV; otherwise, we definitely would have landed on our heads, probably close to death. This situation taught me to never drive near big tow/work trucks, as getting hit by something falling out of a truck’s trailer could cost a life. The best option would be to pass up a truck on its left side: again, something not taught to the general public in Drivers Education. Thus, the incorporation of more driving tips from either our Drivers Education programs or simply from our driving instructors will help reduce the number of driving deaths, and encourage roadside safety.

All in all, my experiences on the road as well as my helpful family members have all taught me the importance of thorough driver’s education. Moreover, I believe that it is important this information gets spread across the board. Some of the ways more teenagers can be informed of the importance of having a good driver’s education is to incorporate more knowledge, tips, and learning into pre-licensing courses. Educating those who know that they are going to drink alcohol to use ride sharing services, or to find a designated driver to safely take them home without getting behind the wheel intoxicated is such a crucial factor in keeping our roads safe for all drivers. After all, there are so many components essential to being a safer driver that simply aren’t taught in the classroom: so why not encourage our instructors today to give us the insight? That way, the horrors of a lack of drivers education and dangerous roads can be cleared, and the streets can be a safe space for all drivers.