The Importance of Safety

There are many concerns when it comes to the road, especially when it’s time for parents to teach their kids how to drive. Teen driving and the safety that surrounds it is a huge concern not only for parents but for the general public. As the rate of incidents on the road increases, the need for young drivers to learn safety is of the utmost importance. Driving safely starts out with simple things like not texting while driving, put on a seatbelt, keep your eyes on the road and check your blind spots before changing lanes. These quick tips start to take a lot more effort and take form once you introduce things like defensive driving or how to quickly disengage in peer pressure from people your age and older. All of these learning skills on how to be a safe driver starts in driver’s education classes. Driver’s Education classes are crucial in addressing teen driver safety because it covers all the precautions and things you need to know when driving before ever going out on the road. The classes prepare you for what it’s going to be like and get you mentally set up so you can be a safe and cautious driver. These classes also introduce you to things like potential challenges you might face or the pressure from peers to drive insanely fast and be a reckless driver. Some of the biggest challenges teens face when it comes to driving safety will come from the people around them. A teen can stress a million times over on where their hand placement is on the wheel because one friend said 10 and 2, their mom said 8 and 5, and the driver’s education teacher said to do whatever is comfortable. In most cases, these people are just trying to be helpful but they cause a lot of unnecessary stress that distracts the teen from learning what they need to do for themselves in order to be a safe driver. A way to relieve a little bit of this pressure is to take time and find what works for you, not what others say works for them but for you, and to explain to others that you are doing what works for you. Cell phones are also a huge distraction while driving. Most drivers in modern times are guilty of at least responding to what seemed like a couple of urgent text messages while driving or talking on the phone during long trips. The inexperience of driving and still figuring things out with the combination of cell phones can cause huge problems for teen drivers. An easy way to combat this is to put your cellphone on silent or do not disturb and let people know when you are about to start driving. In my freshman year of high school, there was a young teen who died because his friends were driving carelessly and ended up throwing him off of a truck causing him a painful death. This incident, while it did not personally affect me, directly affected some of my closest friends and it still haunts them today of what happened because the person driving was so unsafe. I remember the school pulling all the student drivers in to remind them how important it is to be cautious when driving and to be safe so that things like this do not happen and most importantly to innocent teens who did nothing to deserve anything like that. This incident is what actually turned my attention to writing this essay because the safety of driving is something I take extremely seriously. More people need to hear about the importance of driving safely and being aware of other’s safety while driving and not just their own.Not only do teen drivers have to be mindful of their safety and their actions, they have to be aware of other’s safety and actions not only in the car with them, but in other cars too. One of the most important safe driving techniques that is not taught enough is defensive driving. Defensive driving is when you observe the actions and patterns of other cars and traffic, and learn how to take those observations and predict what will happen next so you are prepared for any situation. For example, I have learned that when you are driving in the left hand lane going slightly slower than a car in the right hand lane and all of a sudden another car zooms up in the right lane, no matter the amount of distance between you and that car they are most likely always going to try and pass despite the levels of risks that creates. Simple things like learning the pattern and actions of others in vehicles, setting your phone away to not distract you, figuring out what driving methods work best for you, and just gaining some practice of driving safely are great ways to enhance teen driving safety and create a safer environment for those around them as well. Public education should not only focus on just general driver’s education, but specific details such as different driving techniques that can help teens understand how to be safer, easier. Communities can also help by limiting distractions such as no crazy house decorations near the road or no big signs in the yards to distract drivers. Teens of course also play a crucial role in being able to sit down and learn what works best for them in learning how to be the safest driver they possibly can be, and to learn all of those positive habits that can get them there with a little bit of practice. In conclusion, there are many things that go into teen driving safety and everyone can do their share to help and teach these teens learn safe driving habits for themselves and for others.