Overcoming the Fear of Driving by Learning Driver’s Safety

Growing up, my father did not speak much English. My siblings and I struggled to communicate with him due to a strong language barrier where he did not speak our language and we did not speak his. I was angry for a large portion of my childhood because I couldn’t hold conversations with my dad like my friends at school could with their own fathers. It wasn’t until I was thirteen years old that I started to understand why my father and I struggled to communicate, and the anger began to dissipate. At age thirteen, my dad revealed to me that when he was around the same age, he was in a car accident with his own father which caused severe damage to his brain. I was devastated when he told me. I had so many questions. What did this mean about his long-term health? Can he process information the same way I do? Those questions were slowly answered by him as I got older and began to learn about driver’s safety.
My father was never able to drive due to his brain trauma. In fact, he struggled to learn many life skills because his brain simply wouldn’t allow it after the accident. During his few attempts to drive, I witnessed him being irresponsible on the road. He crashed a motorized scooter into a tree when operating it without a license. He’s even crashed bicycles before from riding recklessly. I wanted to learn from my father’s mistakes when I got older and learn to be a safe driver and generally safe on the road; one that the people around me can trust to be responsible on the road and get from point A to point B without any struggle. I want to explore the significance of safe driving and the pivotal role that awareness, coupled with a formal education in driving, plays in fostering safety on the road.
Despite these hopes of becoming a “good driver,” I developed a fear of being on the road, whether I was a passenger or a driver. Instead of acting by attending driving schools by the time I turned sixteen, I avoided anything involving driving because I thought the safest way to avoid an accident was to avoid cars entirely. As I approach age nineteen, I understand now that the best way to reduce your chance of being in an accident is to learn hands-on how to be a safe and responsible driver. The principal reason to drive safely is to prevent accidents and save lives because every year, countless people are lost to road accidents that could have been avoided. Going to a driving school, attending driver’s ed classes, and practicing with a licensed driver are the best ways to prevent yourself from causing a driving-related death, rather than avoiding driving altogether. A driver’s education is crucial to reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving.
Education is important in any subject to better understand how to use a tool, whether it is reading, writing, speaking, or even driving. A driver’s education can create a strong sense of responsibility in the person learning to drive, allowing them to be more confident in their ability to be safe on the road and avoid accidents of any kind. It also teaches individuals how to navigate different issues they may face while on the road. What if the road is slippery due to ice or rainfall? How does the driver confidently and safely make their way down the road to their destination, avoiding any harm caused to themselves or other drivers? Education can prepare the driver for such a situation. One of the most important aspects of being a safe driver is being focused and sober. In the current day where many states have legalized the use of marijuana and alcohol has become more and more popular with underage Americans, it is key to have a clear and sober mind when operating any type of vehicle. Being under the influence not only puts the driver at risk, but also the passengers and anyone else on the road such as other drivers or even pedestrians. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “[e]very day, about 37 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes — that’s one person every 39 minutes…These deaths were all preventable.” By not driving when you have consumed alcohol or any other sort of drug, you prevent the risk of a driving-related death.

Being mindful of your use of technology includes your focus: how can one be focused on the road if one is paying more attention to a screen than to their driving? As a passenger and a driver, one way I work towards being safer on the road is by holding myself and others accountable when it comes to technology use. I do not use any phone, tablet, computer, etc when driving and discourage others from doing so. When I am in the car with someone driving and they pull out their phone without the car being at a complete stop, I remind them of the dangers of using a device while driving. What if you were to lose your focus due to the screen and hit another car or a pedestrian? I believe that when you drive, your life and the lives of others are in your hands when you operate that steering wheel. You must be focused to prevent driving-related deaths.

To drive safely is a collective responsibility that all drivers have. Driver education equips a person with the necessary skills to be safe on the road and also instills a strong sense of responsibility to be able to navigate safely on the road. As drivers and potential passengers, we must acknowledge that each trip we take is an opportunity to set an example of safe driving. We are contributing to enhancing the well-being of those we are driving with both in our cars and in other cars.