Accountability on the road

Driving plays a very vital role in everybody’s life, and it could start as soon as somebody turns 16. Once somebody starts driving, it becomes a part of their everyday life to transport themself to and from places, lifting the responsibility that used to be put on their parents, friends and relatives and transitioning it to one’s own responsibility. Oftentimes I think driving is taken for granted by not taking it as seriously as one should, driving while distracted, driving under the influence, or just driving irresponsibility causing to put not only their life at risk, but everyone else on the road.

I think putting in the extra work and time on drivers education a few months prior to getting a license, can make all the difference in creating more cautious and aware drivers. In most cases, teenagers are very antsy to get their license and find websites like “Drivers Ed” unbearable and useless. This causes teenagers to rush through this course and not fully take in the important information being presented to them because they know the quicker they are done with it, the closer they are to obtaining the privilege and freedom of getting their license and driving themselves wherever they please. I think people often assume driving is easy and everything will go as expected on the road as long as they drive safely, but that is not even half of the danger, it truly lies in other people’s hands just as much as it does theirs. Drivers education isn’t pointless and there is a very important reason it is required to take the course if you are getting your license before 18, and it’s to create safer drivers which ultimately leads to minimizing the number of fatal car crashes every year.

I strongly feel like a driving education course should be offered in high schools, and should be required to take in order to graduate. Other than the course that teenagers are required to take before they get their license, I feel like driving safety isn’t talked about enough. People probably think it’s a silly idea to have a course for teaching people how to be safe and responsible drivers on the road, but I think it would genuinely cause a change in how people approach driving. Hearing all the statistics of how many people are killed every year by distracted drivers and intoxicated drivers is truly heartbreaking and should be talked about more because it doesn’t have to be like this. Driving doesn’t have to carry as much of a danger as it does, but with very minimal education on driving, this is what driving has come to and that is why every year as more and more people are growing up and getting their licenses, more fatal car accidents occur.

I have unfortunately had the experience of getting in a car accident and also witnessing irresponsible driving from the ones close to me. In January 2025, there were a few times where it snowed quite a bit making the roads hazardous and unpredictable when it came to driving on them. One of these days, I had work and it had been snowing all day and was still snowing at the time, but the roads had already been salted and from what was seen the roads were clear and there was nothing to worry about. As I progressed through my neighborhood and got to the back section of it which leads out to the main road, I noticed the road hadn’t been cleared off at all and was fully coated in snow. Most people would have just turned around and gone back the other way but unfortunately this is a very narrow street with not much room to maneuver, so I just accepted defeat and started to drive as cautiously as I could. I was on the right side of the road where many of the cars park if they don’t have enough room in their garage or driveways. As I was coming down the road, a car on the left side appeared and since there was a car parked on my side of the road, there was certainly not enough room for both of us which ultimately meant I had to slow down. As I went to slow down and stop, my car started to slide with no way to control it. I had to make a very quick decision because I knew I was not going to make it out of this situation without hitting one of the cars, the parked one or the one that was driving. So I did what was the only choice at the time. When the car on the left side drove just enough past that I could go on that side of the road, I quickly swerved to avoid the parked car but unfortunately the back of my car swung back and slammed into the back of their car.

Initially, I could not believe what had just happened and I was questioning if I actually just hit the car because there were so many thoughts rushing through my head. Pure panic chilled me and I knew I had to do the right thing and go back to tell the person that the car belonged to that I had slid into their car. I was very upset and felt terrible even though I knew I couldn’t have avoided it in any way, shape or form due to the circumstances, but it was still nerve wracking to tell them while still trying to get over the initial shock and fright that occurred from the accident. In the future I can prepare myself to be a more safe and responsible driver by not driving in hazardous conditions and if I do, I need to make sure I take roads where they are guaranteed to be cleared off and not following close to people because although that’s not what happened in this situation, it does show what can happen if I’m not able to stop in time. I also believe I can help the ones close to me become better drivers by making sure they aren’t on their phones while they drive, they aren’t tailgating others, they aren’t speeding and they have their full attention on the road and nothing else. Even if the pestering gets annoying and they may not understand, it can save lives, whether it’s theirs or the people around them. That gives a world one less tragedy to worry about.