The Importance Of Safe Driving

Driver’s education is extremely important when it comes to reducing deaths as a result of driving. Being an educated driver means that you understand what you are doing when you get behind the wheel. Whenever we are sitting behind the wheel, we are responsible for the lives of everyone in the vehicle, keeping other vehicles on the road safe, and keeping pedestrians safe as well. Driver’s education reinforces this ideology, and makes us more aware of the risks that come from driving unsafely.

I remember a statistic that I saw on safe driving a few months ago – it said that 80% of people hit at 30 miles per hour live, while 80% of people hit at 40 miles per hour die. That statistic has lived in my head every time I get on the road, because it helped me recognize that speeding is more dangerous than it is thought out to be. Most drivers go five miles over the speed limit, but even that is dangerous. Driver’s education teaches us that the speed limit is there for a reason, and that following the law is important. When we disregard speed limits, we are putting ourselves at risk, along with others on the road. Driver’s education helps us acknowledge others on the road, and how to keep them safe when we get behind the wheel.

It’s important to follow speed limit laws, along with every other traffic law. Some traffic laws that are often violated are stopping at stop signs, stopping at red lights, the “hands free” law, and wearing seat belts. I witness someone blowing a stop sign or a red light almost every day. Common violations like this are why it’s important to anticipate others not driving safely, and to always be on the lookout for someone violating a traffic law. Being aware of your surroundings while driving can prevent a car accident, and maybe save your life. Driver’s education highlighted the importance of driving “hands free”, and how to pay attention to your surroundings. I remember a whole lecture on scanning my surroundings, and how to look out for obstacles on the road. Scanning the road helps us identify obstacles far in advance, and prepares us to take action when we reach those obstacles. If we are driving distracted on our phones, we are not aware of our surroundings on the road. Driving distracted can also include fiddling with the radio, trying to find something in our bag, or having passengers who take your attention off of the road. Driver’s education reminds us that distracted driving is one of the main causes of deaths on the road, and that we need to be conscious of possible distractions. Driver’s education also teaches us how to eliminate these distractions so we can drive more safely.

I have been fortunate enough to have never experienced being in a car accident. Car accidents are prevalent during the Minnesota winter season, with the most crashes happening around the first snowfall. Every year on the first snow, my dad reminds me about being aware on the road. This year, I received a text from him during the first snow. I was at work, and he had just driven my brothers to a school event. The text read, “Roads are pretty nasty. Remember, slower, provide more time to stop, make sure other cars are going to stop before you go. Drive safe, love you.” I always remind him that I’m a safe driver, just for him to remind me that other people aren’t. This helps me to anticipate people not driving safely during the winter months, but it really applies to driving in general as well. That being said, I have not seen my family members driving unsafely. It is pretty common, however, to see my classmates driving unsafely around the school. I’ve seen trucks end up in the ditch when the parking lot gets icy, along with poles being hit, and other cars. No one has been injured yet, but if students continue this reckless driving, it could very well happen.

To help my classmates and others become better, safer drivers, I hope to inform them through this essay. I also intend to practice what I preach, and to remain safe on the road. The ultimate moral of the story here is that distracted driving can lead to being unaware of your surroundings on the road. Driver’s education teaches us about the risks of distracted driving, and how distracted driving kills thousands every year. As Taylor Swift once said, “you almost ran the red ‘cause you were looking over at me”. This is a prime example of why we should eliminate all distractions while driving, even the things that seem silly. Being aware saves lives.