Competent and Considerate Driving

Competent and Considerate Driving

Too many times people are in a car with someone who has limited knowledge or awareness of the rules of the road. Either because they didn’t pay attention in their driver’s education course or they are inconsiderate of those who are driving beside them. Being a teen driver, I have had one too many car rides that have gone like the following: the music is blaring, nobody is wearing their seatbelts, and the driver forgot how the green arrow concept worked. She received a green light and not a green arrow, and she turned left unknowingly putting all of our lives in danger. We barely scathed by without getting hit by oncoming traffic. Driver’s education is essential to prevent potential tumultuous situations like the one depicted. Had she known that a green light was not permission to turn left freely we wouldn’t have been traumatized by that adventure. Driving irresponsibly simply puts everyone in the car lives at risk as well as those outside their vehicle: a family walking on the sidewalk, another car in the oncoming lane, or even a physical structure like a building. To prevent these tragedies there are mandated driver’s education courses and driving requirements by each statement before one is able to receive a license.

Having this knowledge all begins in the classroom. Driver’s Education courses are mandated by state law, for it allows teenagers to grasp basic vehicle control and traffic rules. These rudimentary driving concepts can then be applied to more dangerous driving situations like adverse weather, interstate or major highway driving, and even something as simple as night driving. This is especially important because most crashes and fatalities occur in sixteen through eighteen year olds. Everyone has a stake in safe driving so paying attention and doing well in driver’s education might just save your life, as well as reduce the death total as a whole. One should not have to worry if they are going to die everytime they enter a motorized vehicle. This emphasizes the idea that driving is a privilege not a right.

Furthermore, the exemplary driving practices include never driving carelessly or distracted, which under the influence of drugs or alcohol, using a handheld cell phone, or even eating; configuring the mirrors to one’s sightline; turning right you must go into the rightmost lane; turning left you must go into the leftmost lane; obeying traffic control devices, which are signs, lights, and pavement markings; following the speed limit; maintaining a safe following distance; signaling your intentions and finally that slow traffic is in the rightmost lane. These include several of the very important rules of the road that could prevent fatalities. Things that are less by the book include staying calm, knowing the car well, and taking responsibility for others. If everyone drove like their loved ones were in the surrounding cars, then their caution and care for their driving techniques might increase. To make this dangerous task less risky for drivers everywhere, people need to brush up on their rules of the road and drive with care and compassion for the human beings around them.