The Drive to Stay Alive

Learning how to drive and driving responsibly is immensely important. When learning how to drive I did the online course to get my driver’s permit and then did three in person drives with an instructor. Learning all the technicalities was not the highlight of my driver’s education, but it did teach me a lot of things that I didn’t know before. I learned how to safely drive in the snow, rain, night, day, and any other condition you can think of. When the time came when I would need to drive in less-than-ideal conditions, I knew what to do. While a lot of that didn’t come from the online course, but from experience, I knew what was going on when I hit a patch of ice or puddle in the road. Knowing that made me more aware of what was happening to my car and how to maintain control of the vehicle. Driving with an instructor was equally as important. They were able to give me tips on how to park without running into other cars, how to drive safely in a mountain area, or downtown in a busy city. By having those experiences with them I was able to go through the stress of being in potentially stressful situations, but I was able to do it with someone who could remain calm and tell me what I should do in a given situation. The tools they gave when it came time for me to drive on my own are still some I use to this day. By taking the time to properly learn how to drive I can keep myself and others safe while I am on the road.

Driving puts us in danger every day, so how do we keep people safe? We can’t control what people do in their cars but providing them the right education is a step in the right direction. When I was in high school, I knew of many people who would drive without having received their license or permit, and part of the issue is that taking the classes can be expensive. Most of the people I knew would drive without a license, and they would wait until they were old enough to not have to take the courses anymore to get their license. Some would even opt to not take the test at all. Because they didn’t take the driving courses, they didn’t have the education they needed to be a safer, more responsible driver. I think that if we want to people to become safer drivers and to take the driving course, we need to make them more available. If people can’t afford to take the course, they won’t. By making the courses more affordable more people would enroll in them and learn how to drive safely and under stressful conditions. In providing people the chance to have a proper driver’s education we would be creating a more responsible generation of drivers.

However, I know we can’t simply make things cheaper, the world doesn’t work that way. Another solution could be making the classes more engaging. When taking the online course, I would often become bored with reading and watching videos that didn’t catch my attention. If we made the website an app or more easily understood, more people would learn more from it. Teenagers want to drive, but in the age of social media, attention spans are getting shorter. By allowing students to engage in their learning they’re more likely to learn from it. Doing long readings and watching, for lack of a better word, boring videos, teenagers will tune out, which will result in uneducated drivers. Nobody, not even adult drivers, want to sit through long trainings, they want their trainings to be educational and useful. By making driver education more engaging we will start to see more responsible drivers as they start their driving journey.

As someone who has been in a car accident having responsible drivers in the world is something that is immensely important to me. My accident happened last October while I was driving home from work at approximately 11pm. As I was taking my normal route home a young man sped through a stop sign hitting me directly on my driver side door. Luckily, I wasn’t injured, and the only damage was to the driver’s side door and mirror. At the time of the accident, I was so scared, and I didn’t know what to do. The door was so smashed in that I couldn’t get it open. I was a ball of tears, and I couldn’t stop shaking. Considering where I had been hit, I consider myself lucky that I had not been injured. Because of that experience I have become a more cautious driver. While my experience wasn’t as bad as most, I still never want anyone to feel the fear that I did in that situation. Plus, spending all night in the hospital and living without a car for several months is not a pleasant experience.

Knowing what it feels like to be in accident has made me much more aware of what I had been doing wrong while I was driving. In order to keep myself and others I put my phone on do not disturb while driving, I scan every intersection before passing through, and I make sure I am always aware of my surroundings. As of right now I rely on public transportation to get around, however, when I am able to drive, I am working on being more patient whilst in traffic. We can’t do anything when we’re caught in a traffic jam except make sure we are doing our best to take care of ourselves and those around us. When stuck in traffic, instead of impatiently staring at the light, I can check my mirrors so I am aware of what is going on around me, I can ensure any and all passengers are wearing their seatbelts (myself included), and I can take notice of the time of day. The time of day can have a major effect on our driving, whether it’s the amount of people on the road, or the position of the sun in the sky. By taking note of these things, I can assess how I am driving, whether or not I am driving responsibly, and how to make changes if I am not doing the things I need to.

America is a country that relies heavily on being able to drive and it’s our responsibility to make sure we ourselves the chance to live when heading into the world. Thank you for listening to my thoughts on this topic and for considering me for this scholarship.