Getting Road Ready

Safe driving could save 34,000 lives each year. Being a safe driver is being aware of everyone and everything on or near the roadway. You must be prepared for the vehicle in front of you to break suddenly, or the kid to run into the street, or the biker to lose his balance. You can not rely on someone else’s reaction, but you must be prepared for how they could react. Being a safe driver is being aware of your passengers, and their reactions. If their body or head fall forward when you break, be more prepared for the stop next time. If they are being flung from one side of the car to the other in a curve or turn, slow down.

One way to reduce your risk of a collision is a driver’s education course. Driver’s education is an important factor when learning to become a safe driver. The course can offer many different techniques for operating a vehicle safely. A driver’s education course can offer new drivers a chance to learn in a controlled environment. Once they enter roadways, the new driver is given an opportunity to drive within the day-to-day traffic, but with the guided help from an instructor. Your instructor will help you to prepare for the busy roadways and help you to know how to react when something goes wrong.

I have taken several driver’s education courses, and I believe I am a much better driver because of it. I took a driver’s education course over the summer, going into my freshman year of high school. I was a very new driver and hadn’t become comfortable in the driver’s seat yet. During the driving courses, I was taught how to operate different functions of my vehicle, and how to become a better and safer driver. Not only were the instructors helpful by giving me corrections, but the extra hours driving with someone who wanted to help me learn, made me a much better driver. I also to a motorcycle rider’s education course, that was set up in a similar way to the vehicle course, but adjusted to learn the different functions, techniques and skills needed to safely ride a motor vehicle. Not only did this course teach me how to ride a motorcycle, but it also changed the way I drive in a passenger vehicle. It made me more aware of motorcyclists and taught me how they ride so I will know where to double check for them.

According to the General Services Administration, GSA, 98% of collisions are caused by human error. Driving safer will save lives and will help to avoid more accidents. A safe driver is cautious, but confident. They should be aware of their surroundings, while maintaining steady control of the vehicle. Safe drivers must be aware of the safety features of their vehicles. In a 2011 article from the CDC, “wearing a seatbelt is the most effective way to prevent death and serious injury in a crash.”

My father is one of the safest drivers I know. He is always aware of his surroundings and has an escape route to almost any imaginable situation. He makes sure to follow the driving laws put in place and has taught all his children to do the same. I try my best to surround myself with safe drivers. I do not want to be in the position, where I am getting into the vehicle with someone I can not trust behind the wheel.

I believe the knowledge and experience I have gained through driving education courses, I have been able to avoid being involve in an injury accident. However, I have had several fender-bender incidents. Even though I was okay, every time I have been in an accident there was the same shaken feeling. It is a terrible feeling, especially for a new driver.

Safe driving is not just for the driver, but you can also be a safe passenger. I have been around enough local law enforcement to hear some of the stories of accidents that still haunt them. One of which, a group of kids, who were not fit to be driving in the first place, got into a vehicle, and the only one to put on their seatbelt was the kid in the passenger seat. The driver was unable to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove off the side of the bridge. The kids from the back, not wearing a seatbelt, were ejected forward, suffocating the passenger. Everyone in the vehicle must follow safe driving rules.

Although I try my best to be the safest driver I can be, I, like most others, fail. I can be better by allotting more time for my travels. It will slow me down while I am on the road, and will allow me to be more aware of my actions while operating the vehicle.

I will help others become better drivers by offering to drive, demonstrating a safer way to operate the vehicle. I could also kindly make suggestions, to improve their driving to a safer level.