Education, Enforcement, Experience: Three E’s to Save You and Me

Education,
Enforcement, Experience: Three E’s to Save You and Me

One
second. One second of texting back your crush, biting down on a Big
Mac, or looking back at your friends while driving is all it takes to
kill you, your friends, and innocent families. Every year, tens of
thousands of Americans die in car crashes. Until cars can fully
operate on their own, how can we, as a society, come together to
ensure lives are not lost on the road?

The
first, most important, step in reducing driving-related deaths is
drivers ed. Thorough drivers ed is essential in
reducing deaths because it instructs new drivers, in particular, on
how to remain safe on the road. How can we expect new drivers to be
safe if they have not been informed of the possible consequences?
Driving school taught me to be a safer driver before I even stepped
foot behind the wheel. This knowledge better prepared me to avoid
accidents.

Despite
being taught safety skills in drivers ed classes, many
people will still make irresponsible decisions. Statistically, this
tends to be teenagers and young adults. Thus, law enforcement is also
a crucial step in reducing driver deaths. There has to be a penalty
in place for violations such as not wearing a seat belt, speeding,
and using a phone that will scare drivers enough to not do so. These
punishments may include larger fines and additional classes. One
thing everyone loves is money; if you threaten to take a driver’s
money, they’ll be more likely to protect themselves and others,
even if they’re only thinking about the money. Let the end justify
the means!

I
consider myself an extremely safe and conservative driver. As a
teenager, I learned my lesson early about being a safer driver. I
have only been in one accident, but it taught me a valuable lesson. I
was pulling out from school as a bus was turning in. I wanted to see
past the bus to see if I was clear. In the process, I poked out just
too far and clipped an oncoming car. I had not even committed to
turning, but I still hit someone. This could have potentially injured
or killed me, my younger brother, and the woman in her van. This
experience humbled me and taught me that you can never be too safe on
the road and should always take the extra precaution when you can.
From this point, I have always waited for large vehicles to complete
their turns before checking if I am clear. Additionally, I have
learned from my friends’ accidents to not speed and, most
importantly, not check my phone, as it could ultimately result in
death..

Driving-related
deaths are all preventable. It is our job to teach ourselves and our
peers to make smarter decisions through education, enforcement, and
experience.