My Experience as a Georgia Teen Driver

My senior year of high school exemplified the importance of safe and responsible driving. During that school year, my community was struck by many tragedies that resulted in the deaths of four teens. Those deaths demonstrated the importance of Drivers’ Education and safe driving. Driving safely means that you are not only driving for yourself but you are driving for your passengers and others on the road. To practice safe driving, you must know the rules of the road, show good judgement, and understand your responsibilities as a driver. That is why Driver’s Education is important. Driver’s Education classes help increase teens knowledge about driving and enforce responsibility which is a way to decrease the number of driving-related deaths. For me,

 was a great experience to learn more about safe driving practices and laws about operating a vehicle.

 Decreasing deaths related to driving is one of the goals of most Driver’s Education Programs. However, certain steps can be taken outside of formal classes to decrease fatalities. First, and most importantly, parents and guardians of teens should always provide a good example of a responsible driver. One step that parents and guardians could take is to set limits or rules. For example, one rule could be to only allow their teens to have one passenger in the car. As their young adults acquire more experience in driving and show an increase in responsible driving habits they could allow them to have more than one passenger. Another step that any driver could take is to understand that you are not just driving for yourself when you get behind the wheel but you are also driving for others. At times, driving can be frustrating. This could mean dealing with rush hour traffic when you are in a hurry, sharing the road with inconsiderate drivers or any kind of inconvenience that could come with operating an automobile. During these stressful situations while driving, we must think about how our driving and actions behind the wheel can affect ourselves and others. If we all drive with the intention of being responsible and safe for ourselves and others, we are not only possibly decreasing the number of driving-related deaths but we are actively practicing safe driving.

 Driving not just for ourselves but our passengers and others on the road sounds easy, nevertheless how do we practice this? I am grateful to have never been in a car accident but I have witnessed people texting and driving or speeding. Texting while driving, as well as, speeding could be considered a selfish action to take behind the wheel. This is true because when you do these things you are only thinking about how to answer that text or to get to your destination, as fast as possible, and that only benefiting you. Instead of how these actions could have negative consequences. When you operate a car, you can’t just think about how quickly you want to get to your destination or how fast you want to drive. You must think about your safety and the safety of others. It is always best to drive safely, no matter how long it might take for you to reach your destination. Making it safely is always worth it. This is how all drivers could operate their vehicles and drive not just for themselves but others on the road as well.

 As a college student, who drives back and forth from my campus to my family’s home, I am always eager to arrive as quickly as possible. I plan my trips accordingly by making sure that I have a full tank of gas and some snacks for the road. As I have traveled to and from my college campus, I have noticed some ways that I could practice being a safer driver. One way, is by watching my speed not just to prevent myself from getting a ticket but to also decrease my chance of being in an accident. I’ve also noticed that I could do better by not changing lanes as much and being more patient with other drivers. These are ways that myself and other drivers could make driving much safer. As a passenger, I could help my friends practice safer driving by putting the GPS directions on my cellphone and helping them get us to our destination more safely. Opposed to the driver holding their phone, in their hands, while driving and constantly looking down at their screen for directions. There is always something that every driver could do better when it comes to driving responsibly. Such as watching your speed limit, being hands-free while driving, or paying better attention to the road. Acknowledging and actively trying to do better for yourself and others are some of the most important steps that any driver could take to make our roads safer.