Delaying the Drive: A Thoughtful Approach to Obtaining a License

Almost everyone I’ve met has looked forward to getting their license. As I’ve continued with life, family and friends around me have been excited for me to get my license and every family gathering I would get the same question, “When are you going to get your license?”. I’ve never looked forward to driving. It’s something that even the idea of me being behind a wheel stresses me out. There are so many risks that come with being on the road, let alone when you first start learning it. This has led to me looking into many options for learning how to drive safely. From this research I’ve learned how important driver’s education is. Driver education is such an important step in getting your license. It can teach you how to understand the road, the signs, how to reduce an accident, how to “safely” crash in an emergency as a last resort, how to properly understand the vehicle you’re in, and more. Despite these precautions, accidents remain an unfortunate reality. Individuals often suffer severe injuries, and lives are tragically lost on the unforgiving roads.

Understandably, we’ll never be able to fully prevent car accidents from happening. They’re accidents for a reason, whether it was someone’s choices that lead them there or a malfunction, there’s no way to fully prevent these accidents. But the hope lies in the fact that we can reduce them. That much is possible, with the proper education, understanding, and preventive measures. I believe that if there’s stricter road laws, longer driver’s education courses, and more of an in-depth teaching about caring for and understanding a car these can help prevent more accidents. Also teaching more about how to deal with stressful or danger situations could also improve in lowering the risk of deaths, everyone has different levels of how they hand with risky situations and emergencies. Some people freeze, and others panic, most people don’t understand what to do in emergencies and that could cost lives or save them.

I’ve never had a personal experience myself, but I’ve had family that have been in car accidents all caused by younger irresponsible drivers. My uncle starts work very early in the morning, so he has to drive there very early. Typically, the roads are empty, and few cars are around. Unfortunately, on that day, while he was driving to work and stopped at a red light when a drunk driver hit his truck from behind. The driver had been partying the night before and had gotten drunk. He was speeding home from the party when the collision happened, my uncle’s truck had been rammed from behind and was pushed further into the road. This accident caused him to need rotator cuff surgery. Rotator cuff surgery is used to repair torn rotator cuffs, it involves reattaching the tendons to the head of the humerus. He needed this surgery on both arms and twice in one as the original surgery had failed. Luckily, he was okay and recovered after a long period of time.

For my grandparents, my grandfather was driving, and my grandmother was in the passenger seat. They were going on a green light when a lady got off at an exit, she was late to work as well as texting while driving. She crashed into them, on my grandfather’s side of the car, deploying the air bags which released red dust. In the heat of the moment my grandfather was concerned as he had thought the dust was blood. The car had been flipped, and in turn the jaws of life had to be used to remove them from the car. Jaws of life are a hydraulic rescue tool that is used to pry open cars allowing the passengers to escape via that newly made opened area. They were okay, but my grandfather had to walk with a cane for the rest of his life.

Due to all the concerns and dangers with driving, I’ve personally put off getting my license. I’ve seen how people can drive, and I’ve seen very severe accidents. I’d prefer to take longer to get my license and learn more about cars and driving before going to get a license. I think the more I understand the process of driving and the cars themselves the more I’ll be able to avoid an accident or know how to safely take care of an emergency if something stops working. I understand that there’s no way to completely avoid one, as one day it could happen. Unfortunately, there will always be accidents. No amount of teaching and understanding will prevent accidents completely. But everyone can do their best to try and keep the roads safe and avoid danger or causing dangerous situations and learn how to best handle those situations when the moment arises.