Driving The Right Way

The importance of a driver’s education in reducing deaths is to teach people how to drive on the road safely, making sure everyone can be on the road safely, going where they need to go. Being able to navigate the road in different scenarios safely and efficiently can make the difference in a bad situation. You also have to know about the risks involved with driving. Knowing the rules of the road will teach how to read signs, use signals, and drive with etiquette.

There are several ways to reduce deaths related to driving. Speed limits can be lowered so reaction times can be faster and easier to react to. In neighborhoods, the speed limits are slow(around 10-20) so people on the road either pedestrians or drivers, can respond to each other. Another way which is used a lot in cities is pedestrian sidewalks. They help separate the cars from the people and keep the people off the road. 2 very obvious ones are putting on your seatbelt, and not texting while driving. If you get into a car crash and don’t have a seatbelt, then you’ll most likely fly out of the car and die so having it on could be the thing that saves you. Texting while driving takes your focus off the road, making you vulnerable to your surroundings, and making you a hazard. Drinking while drunk or tired are very big deals. Being tired slows your reaction time on the road, and can cause pretty bad outcomes if you fall asleep. Drunk driving is always a bad decision because it impairs your vision, and slows reaction time.

I’ve never been in or seen a car accident personally, but I have been in a car with people driving irresponsibly. One time, we were driving on a dark long road with no one around so a friend hit the gas and went way above the speed limit. Another time, a family member took their eyes off the road and started drifting off the road lines. I saw from the passenger side that we were gonna drift into a stone guard rail, and immediately grabbed the wheel to get back in the line. It was an accident on her part but we were safe and nobody got hurt. Due to my house being in an awkward spot compared to the cul de sac, and the road being destroyed and remade badly, my driveway has caused multiple different close call accidents. One time my Nana tried to drive out of it and almost drove into the ditch. Not even an hour later, my cousin almost drove into the other side of the ditch. Another time, my friend’s dad couldn’t tell how long my driveway was, and crashed into my neighbor’s mailbox. The last time it happened, a group of my friends were backing up and almost hit a car that was also backing out. My cousin would text while she drove, swerve in and out of lanes, driveway over the speed limit, etc. My mom was in a pretty bad accident. She was in a car with multiple people who were drunk, including the driver, had the music loud blasting, was speeding, and everyone was fighting over the music. Due to all of these things adding together, the driver went to turn it down and ran off the road. They hit 3 or 4 trees, flipped the car multiple times, and landed in a run off ditch. All of the people in the crash were lucky to survive, but they all ended up with life altering injuries. Per the paramedic, the only thing that kept them alive that day was it recently raining, and the ditch had water in, and it helped slow the car down.

Some ways that I could become a better driver are lowering the speed limit on some roads, and improving my confidence at intersections. Whenever the speed limit gets to a high point, like 60 mph and higher, I tend to tense up and slow down, causing other cars to pass me, and getting to where I need to go slower. I could improve by driving on a lone road with a high mph to ease more into it. When I get to intersections, I deal with people not respecting the right of way, making it to where I freeze and letting them go 1st no matter if it’s my right of way or not. I can improve by going when I am supposed to and not let other cars intimidate me.