The Importance of Staying Educated Outside of the Classroom

Driving has become a big part of my life, even at 19 years old I rely on the accessibility of a car and the roads every day. Whether it is taking the bus around my college town or getting myself to work by driving a car in the summer. The amount of car accidents I see per week has increased significantly since I was a youth, my friends have been in accidents, as have I. However, if it wasn’t for the driving school I had taken when obtaining my G2 then I probably would’ve been in far more or even potentially caused one. Driver education is incredibly important in keep safe roads, many times people just don’t know certain road rules such as who enters first in a roundabout, who goes if the stop lights are out, or even who has the right of way at a stop sign.

If everyone took driving school, I believe the death rate would decrease, they teach you on hands on situations and someone is there in your car to explain each situation as it happens. If more people were correctly educated on speed limits, right of way and the importance of safe distance then there would be far less accidents.

I remember the first winter I had my license, my driving instructor made me go really fast down an empty road and slam on the breaks, so I could see how much I slide and how to control the car. If it wasn’t for this, then three months later when my car did actually lose traction in the snow, I could’ve caused a serious accident however I was educated and well equipped to control myself. There are so many things we can do to help reduce the number of deaths, some more inivative than others. For one, we can make driving school mandatory, currently in Ontario it is optional, most people just attend to get their licence faster. A mandatory program would mean everyone has the opportunity to obtain the same education. Another option is lowering speed limits, a lot of large crashes are due to speeding, however with lower speed limits, people will only speed by a little. Safety features can also be very helpful, creating a system where your car doesn’t start until you have your seatbelt on can help reduce deaths. I have heard countless stories where people have gotten hit and flew through windshields and more which resulted in death but if they had their seatbelts, they would’ve been fine.

I have been in a few car accidents, none in which were mine or the person I was with faults luckily. My most recent car accident was during the rain, my brother and I were sitting in the left turn lane on a red light and the car behind us was not paying enough attention to us breaking and didn’t account for the wet roads. She failed to break in time, and her car hydroplaned into us. Luckily all parties were okay, however it was easily avoidable. The attending officer said if she had started breaking even 5 feet before she probably wouldn’t have even hit us, instead she hit us going 50km/h. Another time rain got the best of people was when my friends were on the highway. It had rained all day, and they were driving to Toronto, my friend was new to driving and did not think about how wet the roads were. Although he was going the speed limit, he went to merge lanes, he cut over too quickly and his car lost control. He ended up spinning out another friend’s car. Once again luckily no parties were hurt however both cars were totalled.

The steps I can personally take to ensure I am being a safe driver is following the speed limits, this can lower the risk by so much for anyone. I also need to ensure im checking my mirrors constantly even when driving in a straight line, this keeps me alert and attentive. Another major one is ensuring Ive had enough sleep and understand my route. Not being sure where you are going can cause you to break suddenly, miss turns or be panicked. Ensuring I know my route can help me be more confident and smoother on the road.

There is so many little things people can do while on the road to make them safer and if everyone continued to educate themselves on road safety then we could decrease the fatality rate every year. Keep people accountable and self-aware can change so for road safety.