In the Driver’s Seat

Driver education is an essential part of becoming a safe and responsible driver. Like many others, my driving journey began with driver education classes as a teenager. I then progressed to practicing driving in a car with an instructor or another licensed driver. When I was ready, I took the written and driving test and became a licensed driver. Over the years, I have had to renew my license and take the written test from time to time. I do not recall ever getting a perfect score on the written driving test, but I do recall needing to retake it because I did not pass the first time around. It goes to show that there is always something new to learn when it comes to being a safe and educated driver.

It is alarming to see the statistics about how many people die each year as a result of driving. Even though anyone with a driver’s license has received driver education in some capacity, all people on the road are at risk of making fatal mistakes or becoming a victim of other people’s mistakes. Certain things are in our control, like choosing not to drive while intoxicated, volunteering to be a designated driver for those who are intoxicated or simply obeying the laws of driving. With the advancements in technology come many benefits to making driving easier, such as access to maps/directions or other safety features like sensing obstructions in the way. However, technology like cellular phones and texting have caused more distracted driving.

I have experienced an accident myself that was due to distracted driving. I was driving down a hill and texting someone at the same time and ended up rear ending the person in front of me. I was so caught up with wanting to text someone that I was not fully focused on driving safely. This accident could have been prevented had I chosen to use my phone when I was not driving. Seeing the statistics of deaths as a result of driving starting to rise again in the last few years may be partially influenced by similar experiences of distracted driving.

I have also been a passenger of an irresponsible driver who got us into an accident that could have been fatal. The driver wanted to drive fast in a residential area which was making me uncomfortable. The driver was going down a hill when it quickly approached a vehicle who was driving the speed limit in front of us. The driver decided to pass the vehicle in front of us on a double yellow line and I was terrified. To make matters worse, the vehicle was starting to turn left while we were passing them on the left and the two cars collided and spun out. I remember spinning and then hitting a large telephone pole which caused the windshield in front of me to crack and start to shatter. I had a few minor cuts on my face as a result. Had we hit the pole any harder, I could have been killed. This is a situation where I had very little control of what was happening, even though I tried to tell the driver to slow down and not pass.

A less harmful experience I had as a driver was when it was snowing in the desert where I lived in high school. I was still fairly new at driving and had never driven in the snow before. I was coming to a stop at a stop light and started to slide into the car in front of me after I pressed on the brakes. Luckily, I wasn’t driving very fast and so there was no damage caused. Now that I live in a place where it snows every year, I have become a much more alert and careful driver, especially in the snow. Driving in the rain can be very dangerous as well. One time I was on an elevated freeway ramp while it was raining and started to hydroplane. Fortunately, it didn’t cause me to lose control, but driving through heavy weather constantly reminds me to drive carefully.

I have learned a lot from my personal experiences. I feel very grateful that I did not lose my life or see others lose their life as a result of irresponsible driving. As I said before, there are certain things we can control and other things we cannot. It is our responsibility to control the things we can and to continue to learn and grow from our mistakes. We can help others by asking them to obey the laws while driving and reporting it to the proper authorities when they do not. Overall, we all need to cooperate with one another and stay focused in the driver’s seat.