Car or Weapon?

My grandfather always said to me as a little girl that being behind the wheel was like holding a loaded gun in my hands. I choose whether or not to shoot. I always thought he was exaggerating when he said that. I didn’t understand how a car could be a weapon. Looking back now, I realize I was ignorant of the responsibilities that come with driving. If a car is misused, it becomes a weapon that can take multiple lives.

The importance of driver education so the number of deaths caused by driving may be reduced is essential nowadays. More than 38,000 people die every year in car crashes, and that is only in the United States. Driver education is a requirement for anyone before getting their license. Many think it is unnecessary to teach future drivers judgment, defensive driving, and most importantly common sense. I think that driver’s ed is important because it teaches you how to properly drive and how to use your judgment to decide whether you should make decisions on the road. I believe that every decision made behind the wheel is a life or death decision. You can choose to drive safely, you can choose not to drink and drive, and you can choose to pay attention to the road. The leading cause of teen deaths is motor vehicle accidents. Many of the teens that get in these car accidents have not been properly educated on driving safely, or if they have, they feel as if the rules do not apply to them. I firmly believe that every person who drives should have taken or should take a driver’s education program. There are some states that require driver’s ed to get their license; however, not all of them do. To help decrease the statistics of teenage car accidents, I believe that driver’s education should be a class mandatory in high school. This class would help teens understand that getting their license is not freedom, it is a privilege and it can be revoked.

The measure that can be taken to reduce the number of death related to driving is to always use a seatbelt. According to the Kailee Mills Foundation, teens have the highest rate of non-seat belt safety in the US. The number of deaths due to crashes each year would be cut in half if every single person would wear their seat belts. I always say to be prepared for anything that might happen while you are driving. You never know if the car behind you might have been drinking or if they are driving in road rage. So, you have to be prepared to use defensive driving and always be concentrated, the risks of driving while zoning out can be deadly serious. Very often, drivers zone out while driving and don’t realize it until they have arrived where they are supposed to be. This can be dangerous because you are not aware of your surroundings and might not respond as fast as you would have.

I have experienced being in a car crash last year. My mother was the one driving. We were in the lane that said “must turn right”, my mother was in a rush to get me to swimming practice so she tried to switch lanes because she needed to keep going straight. However, there was a loaded truck with wood beams, and apparently, the truck had a couple of beams sticking out of the cargo bed, when my mother tried to veer to the left lane instead of turning right like she was supposed to, the cargo truck’s wooden beams went through the back windows of the car. I remember being confused and not realizing what had happened until a few seconds later. It happened so fast that I didn’t fully grasp what went wrong. My mom kept apologizing to me and asking if I was okay because I wouldn’t respond. I was in shock. After I calmed down, and we pulled to the side of the road, my mom had to call a tow truck and talk with the truck diver. The cops came and it all became a very big mess. I couldn’t stop thinking: this could all have been avoided if my mom would have just turned right. It would have been thirty extra seconds instead of crashing the car, paying for a tow truck, and paying for the car to be fixed.

The majority of the time my parents tell me to be careful while driving, they have said multiple times that it is not because of me, but because of other reckless or uneducated drivers on the road. I can make sure I am always concentrated on driving well. If my friends are making too much noise or if the music is too loud, then I can easily change that situation. I can encourage my friends and siblings to always put on their seat belts no matter what.