My Thoughts on Safe Driving

Amelia
Flores

Driver’s
education is crucial to creating more educated and responsible
drivers. For a lot of people, most of driving is fairly easy to pick
up, at least, the simple mechanical aspects are: turn the wheel left
to move the car left, press the gas to speed up- that all can be
learned through simple practice. However, safety precautions are less
obvious. Things like safe following distance, safe merging practices,
C.O.A.S.T and similar, people do not inherently know these, yet they
save lives.

I believe that, to
reduce driving deaths, we need to continuously educate all drivers,
not just new ones. Humans do not have an infinite and perfect memory,
and the same way I barely remember what I read in my 8th grade
English class, unless I go out of my way to remember safety
precautions, I will not remember them as well. On top of that, our
understanding of safety changes frequently, and advice from a decade
ago may conflict with our current information. It is crucial to
provide all drivers with the most accurate and up to date information
possible, and this need does not go away once a new driver passes
their driving test.

When I was young,
my mother got into an accident on a state highway. She swerved to
avoid a vehicle that was heading north on the southbound highway, and
she crashed. Thankfully neither my mother or I were seriously
injured. The driver of the vehicle heading the wrong way never
stopped, and to my recollection, was never found or apprehended. I do
not know for sure that they were under the influence of any
substances, but I believe it was likely.

My greatest
challenge as a driver is my attention span. Obviously, while the car
is moving, I am quite attentive, but once I have stopped at a light
or intersection, it is a challenge for me not to turn my attention to
wildlife or flora. This is dangerous however, as not giving the road
and my vehicle the entirety of my attention can lead to dangerous
mistakes such as releasing normal pressure from the brake, which
could allow my car to drift into an intersection, or worse, a
pedestrian. I have made it my personal mission to devote all of my
attention to my driving at all times.
Many of my friends have
issues with speeding, and I am not always entirely sure how to help
them. I have voiced my concerns on several occasions, and when a
passenger in my friend’s cars, I will get out if I feel they are
being unsafe and they refuse to change their behavior. However, it
seems like my actions only change their driving while I am in the car
with them, and I wish I knew how to have a longer lasting impact on
their reckless behavior.