Make Driving Safe Again

Make
Driving Safe Again

Did
you know that the amount of driver fatalities has remained steady
over the course of three consecutive years? According to the National
Safety Council:

“For
the first time since the Great Recession, the U.S. has experienced
three straight years of at least 40,000 roadway deaths, according to
preliminary estimates released Feb. 13 by the National Safety
Council. In 2018, an estimated 40,000 people lost their lives to car
crashes – a 1% decline from 2017 (40,231 deaths) and 2016 (40,327
deaths). About 4.5 million people were seriously injured in crashes
last year – also a 1% decrease over 2017.”

This
fact alone contributes to the idea that drivers ed/ safety
needs
to be reinforced. I myself, am a 17-year-old who’s been on a
driving journey. I have my temporary license and I’ve driven in
many conditions (rain, snow, nighttime, highway,etc.). Over the
course of my journey, I’ve learned so much information about
driving, but I’ve also come to learn that the drivers ed
we receive just to get a license isn’t enough. Throughout this
time, I’ve encountered countless situations where I had to worry
more about my defensiveness towards other drivers’ recklessness
rather than my own techniques. For example, I was in the right lane
on a three lane street, where someone was at the edge of a parking
lot and as I was passing, they increased their speed so quickly, they
almost hit me. This incident alone made my heart race and my pulse
rise, but I was thankful; I was thankful for the driving text I
studied, my parents constantly reinforcing the importance of
awareness and reactiveness, and the luck I was pardoned – as it
could’ve been a terrible accident. Another example is, about a week
ago, a family member had a close friend pass away in a car accident.
The friend was pregnant and got ejected out of the window due to not
wearing a seatbelt (the accident itself was not due to her). The
point of these examples is that more drivers ed could’ve
avoided these hassling and tragic situations.

Additionally,
to reduce the amount of driver fatalities, we have to go farther than
giving drivers ed to underage students, or to those getting
their licenses reinstated. I believe all highschools should be
required to give students graded courses in driving, and furthermore,
all licensed adults should be required to take at least one free
driving course per year or be fined. Finally, starting with
ourselves, we have to recognize our own driving faults/habits and
actively work to improve them. Becoming aware of bad driving habits
and working to stop them helps everyone. Even assisting others in
understanding the importance of driver safety goes a long way. We
have to talk to one another, and be more considerate, respectful
drivers. Taking these steps, coupled with additional driver’s
education, is the only way to make the road safer and save more
lives.