Road Safety

Our everyday lives we use cars, we use them for work, school, practice, hanging out with friends, etc. Therefore, it’s natural that the population of Americans on the road would be higher, due to walking from one area to another being difficult and public transportation being hard to find in most states, especially in non-college cities. The importance of a driver’s education is the string between life and death, it is just that simple. You either know how to drive or you don’t. You either know to use your turn single or you don’t. The education that a driver possess can drastically reduce the number of deaths. This could be as simple as looking in your blind spots for vehicles.

A driver’s education should consist of one key component, this is one that many motorcyclist instructors preach and live by. “Be aware of your surroundings as well as your driving” if you do not put both into account it can simply cost your life. In order to reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving, more drivers need to be educated and tested on the road with a verified instructor. By being verified with an instructor, a driver is more likely to drive safer and be more responsible for their actions. Luckly, I have only been in small accident where I got rearended, however even something as small as that can create back and neck issues. One of my uncles has unfortunately passed away due to a car crash, where a truck driver was driving irresponsibly, eventually causing a crash, and ending someone’s life. My cousin and father have also been in car accidents, my father was driving when someone ran into his cars side, the car was no longer usable, thankfully he was alright. My cousin however was in an uber, someone who drives often, someone carrying someone else’s life with them. The accident that they were caught in almost left her paralyzed and driver was, to my knowledge, alright.

Unfortunately, these issues aren’t confined to the road, as a highschooler I often am a victim to “schools out syndrome”, this is where every student in the student parking lot wants to leave school at a quick rate, therefor many forget how to drive; at least that’s how I would describe it. Many thing that I have seen in that parking lot alone is, people driving on the opposite side of the street, forgetting to use blinkers, drifting around corners, and simply forgetting to take turns when leaving the lot. These are all driving basics, simple rules that we are taught since the second we get into a car. To become better and safer drivers we as a community should bring the idea of drivers ed back into high schools. Many families cannot afford driving school, so they attempt to teach themselves which could be effective, however in the long run it is not the same as learning from a professional driving instructor. One problem that I see quite often; especially in the state of Arizona, is that many people do not know how to properly conduct themselves in the rain therefore, causing an influx of accidents. This can be simply broken down to the fact that most Arizonians do not get many chances to practice in the rain unless they live higher up in the mountains which most don’t. If it were to snow in phoenix, then the roads would all together be catastrophic.

This type of issue is much harder to solve, however in the permit testing, if we were to add the rules to driving safely in the rain and snow, it should decrease the number of crashes on rainy days. Another probable solution is reminders along the road, speed reducers, more police officers on roads, and signs simply stating, “slow down on wet roads.” Currently one issue that I have personally experienced this winter is understanding my car. I have realized that I have no idea how to take care of my car, the only thing that I truly know is how to pump my wheel. In driving schools their should be a point in time where we are explained on how to change oil, and tires, or what to do when the windshield freezes up, especially if your car will not warm up without driving, or even something as simple as turning your brights on and off, because many aren’t tested on that; therefore constantly driving with their brights on which can make it difficult for those sensitive to light to see, and yes this is il in the manual, but many buy used cars or use old family member cars that no longer contain one, causing it to be harder to navigate. Therefore the basics of taking classes and adding drivers ed back into high school could fix many of the problems that we as a current society exhibit on the road.