Good Drivers Are Safe Drivers

Driving is a fun and freeing thing to do with your friends when you turn 16. However, it can also lead to the unfortunate events of car accidents, injuries, and/or death. In this essay, these topics are discussed and how to make them as avoidable as possible, so driving remains fun and more importantly, safe for everyone.

Educating drivers is a hugely important task in keeping our roads safe. Car accidents happen most commonly between 16 and 17 year old drivers, which means newer drivers are the most careless drivers. In the year 2021, there were 108,018 car accidents in Canada, 3.6% higher than the previous year. Also, unintentional injuries (like car accidents), are the third leading cause of death. It is so sad that something so avoidable and easy to fix is such a large problem that affects the whole world. Although driving school/lessons can be expensive, one cannot put a price on saving someone’s life, or their own life. In driving school, people are taught the rules of the road, the effects of not following those rules, and how to avoid common accidents. During in-car lessons with an instructor, people are taught the importance of knowing those things, through real world situations and experiences. In my opinion, driving school/lessons are the most important step in one’s driving journey, and those who do not do it will be more prone to reckless driving and/or accidents. I think this because those who do not participate in driving school/lessons do not know the exact rules, regulations, and expectations that they must know in order to be a safe driver. Yes, there are many safe drivers who did not drive recklessly or get into accidents, but that is very rare and that chance should not be taken. Personally, I think driving school/lessons should be made mandatory for everyone so we can ensure that everybody knows the correct information.

As I previously mentioned, driving school/lessons should be made mandatory to let everyone learn the proper information on how to drive safely and how to follow the rules of the road. However, this is not an easy thing to do because it can be very expensive to participate in driving school/lessons. In my opinion, the government should pay for them because it is their citizens who are dying or getting injured due to lack of such education. Another step that could be taken to reduce the amount of deaths related to driving is more technological cars. If cars had faster acting automatic braking sensors, more cameras around the vehicles to allow for more visibility, alerts if you’re at risk of crashing before it is too late, and more adaptive cruise control, less car accidents would occur. These things could easily reduce the amount of deaths related to driving because it could stop serious accidents from happening in the first place.

When I was 13 years old, my sister was 16 and had only had her G2 for about two weeks, at the time. We went to the mall together, but I had never been in the car with her driving without our parents present. We pulled out of the busy parking lot, onto the road, heading south, when we approached an intersection. The hand sign for pedestrian crossing was flashing, but it had 8 seconds left, so my sister had plenty of time to pass through. However, when we were about half way through the intersection, a much larger car, coming from the west (attempting to turn left to go north), smashed into the passenger side of our car, causing us to skid across the intersection. The passenger side of the car, where I was sitting, was extremely damaged. So much so that my door would not open due to it being jammed into place. This sent me and my sister into shock, and I was very emotional since that was the first major accident I had gone through. My sister called my parents and the police to assess the situation, then we exchanged insurances and went to the police station to formally report the accident and make our statements. The other driver was clearly at fault, so luckily, my family did not have to pay very much for the damages. For many weeks after that event, I would not drive with my sister because I was traumatised from what had happened. That experience still affects me because I make sure not to make the same mistakes as the other car, while I drive. Since then I have learned to not expect other drivers to be good drivers. Just because I assume that they will not make simple mistakes (like failing to stop at a red light), does not mean that they will not make them anyway. It is important to not let your guard down or get too comfortable while driving, because it is things like that that could cause fatal accidents.

Some steps that I take to be a safe driver are not playing music too loud, making sure everyone in my car is wearing their seat belts (and having enough seatbelts for everyone), following speed limits, using my signals while changing lanes, turning, and pulling in and out of parking spots, and checking my mirrors and blindspots before changing lanes. I learned all of these things during driving school/lessons which gave me a better understanding of how to prioritise driving safely instead of recklessly, even if that means I get to my destination a bit later. The steps I take to help others be safe drivers include modelling safe driving, reminding them of right-of-ways that they are not following, asking them to follow the speed limits if they are going too slow or too fast, and making sure they are completely sober before driving. These things ensure that they will follow the law and keep everyone safe in their car.