Learning As a Key Component of Car Safety Awareness

High school is one of the most stressful periods when it comes to growing up. Not only are you experimenting with your passions and interests, but you are also learning valuable skills that you will take with you for your entire life. The four years of high school are some of the most important and influential years, but they also offer a small taste of responsibility, especially when it comes to freedom. Driving around with no set destination in mind can be one of the most freeing experiences for anyone, as it permits you to have access to a vehicle with the opportunity to go anywhere at a moment’s notice. While there is immense power in sitting behind the wheel, there also needs to be awareness and a heavy emphasis on safety, which is why it is important to have these discussions before getting behind the wheel of a car.

Back when I was in elementary school, I had a bike, and I would ride all around town. My trips allowed me to indulge my thirteen-year-old’s curiosity while also allowing me to travel quickly around the neighborhood. However, despite the warnings from my parents, I decided that it wasn’t “cool” to ride a bike without a helmet or any sort of protection. One day, when I was several kilometers away from home, I took a turn too tight and crashed my bike into a drainage system full of rocks. The headache, deflated tires, and many bruises on my body were definitely dampening my mood, but my thoughts on the walk home kept cycling back to how I was less than a foot from going off a ravine.

A couple of summers ago, I had the opportunity to attend driving school before I had my license. Before I attended the class, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of the driving rules. After all, I have observed my family and friends driving for many years. But after attending the class, I learned so many rules that I had no idea existed or were important when it came to driving responsibly. If I hadn’t had the opportunity to learn about the rules in detail before I got my driver’s license, I could have had a dangerous impact on people around me with my driving.

Confidence is a key component of being a good driver. You need to have it in order to know when to turn or where to park. It is essential to driving a car. Confidence is hard to build up which is why driving school was important to me. Coming from riding a bicycle where I could ride everywhere in a designated lane specifically tailored to me, it was nerve wracking to suddenly find four or five different people around me as I drove. I needed to have the experience of a trained person beside me as I worked on these important driving skills to help allow me to learn the confidence I would need for the future.Having the opportunity to practice, ask questions when confused, and learn why there were certain rules and regulations was extremely crucial to how I understand the road today. If I did not have access to the resources or instructors, I would not be as confident a driver as I am today.

Driving safely is the closest thing to time travel we have. By making sure we and the people around us are safe, we are able to mitigate any potential issues that could cause serious bodily damage. Cars have many safety features already, but there are still many features that are often forgotten in place of the excitement of driving a car. The first step in reducing deaths is to raise awareness. Awareness is key when it comes to creating recognition for safety. When a driver in Ontario gets their license for the first time, they are given a restricted driver’s license. This license can be used to drive a car if certain safety conditions are met by the driver. Having an understanding of these conditions is essential to helping reduce potential accidents that the driver is not prepared for. Having these conditions helps reduce the stress for a young driver and creates an understanding of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. This would help new drivers to be less confused or overwhelmed about the rules of the road and build much-needed confidence in driving a car. An experienced driver might be comfortable on the road but may not always remember all the rules that they need to follow.One of the most effective and awe-provoking methods is social media. Social media is able to reach a lot of people from various places very effectively. Having a campaign that talks about what can be done to increase safety in care will be effective simply because it’s easier to remember something if it’s being repeated constantly. Having something that spreads awareness can be beneficial because it allows the experienced driver to gain a deeper understanding of the topics without the frustration of re-attending a driving class or being spoon-fed the information.

2022 was the worst year for car crashes in Ontario over the past 5 years. Compared to 2021, there was an increase of over 20% more crashes. The two leading causes of fatalities from the crashes were 1) not wearing a seatbelt and 2) driving under the influence. The issue I want to focus on is the wearing of seatbelts. Seat belts help save over 1000 Candains every year from all collisions. One of the issues we’re seeing is that many people just don’t want to wear seatbelts anymore, whether it be from carelessness or forgetting. Studies show that wearing a seatbelt drastically reduces the chance of injury when wearing a seatbelt in the backseat.

In 1989, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) started a campaign to eliminate drivers on the road who were under the influence. This organization has helped save over 400,000people. With their pivotal work, MADD has spread awareness about the lethal decision to get behind the wheel intoxicated. I think that the best response to people not wearing their seatbelts would be to spread awareness about not only the safety of wearing seatbelts but how to properly wear one as well. This can be accomplished through social media advertisements emphasizing the importance of set goals. After you’ve spread awareness about the issue and the consequences that would arise from disobeying that law, you would look to set up checkpoints around the road that would help ensure people are properly wearing their seatbelts. A collaboration with other groups that already sponsor traffic stops, such as MADD, or looking to get your initiative supported by the city or local police force would also help spread awareness of the safety seat belts in your community. A more permanent solution would be for special sensors in a car to monitor if everyone is wearing a seatbelt. These sensors would be used to make sure everyone is wearing a seatbelt when they are supposed to. In order to eliminate the risk of driving without a seatbelt, the car would not be able to start or surpass the speed set by the manufacturers. With the increased cost of these sensors, it might be worth considering and investigating the effects and benefits of social media and the influence it can have on drivers. Personally, social media would have an effect on me and help me be a role model for my friends and family by always wearing a seatbelt , regardless of where I sit in the car. Having that extra layer of safety for me is essential, especially with the risks involved with driving.

In conclusion, cars are some of the most useful tools in a teenager’s world to experience what it’s like to have both responsibility and freedom. However, despite the amazing benefits that cars have to offer, there are also precautions that need to be adhered to in order for the drivers to be as safe as possible. As of right now, having an awareness of the safety that needs to be followed while in a car is often second to the overall enjoyment of the car. Knowing how to be safe and responsible while behind the wheel of a car is the most important lesson you can learn, and it all starts from car safety awareness.