Stay Alert, Avoid Distractions and Drive Safely

The importance of learning how to drive and being aware of people around you is crucial to reduce the number of deaths as a result of distracted driving. You never know what could happen when you drive out to work or practice and it only takes one second, and one slip up. Correct education and practice makes or breaks these moments. They teach you how to react and observe the road at all times, so you don’t end up dead. I think the number of deaths as a result of driving can also be used to teach students from first hand where being dangerous, reckless, and unaware can lead you. Whether it be under the influence, texting while driving, speeding or more, they can all show that driving is real, and it isn’t just like a video game where you can crash and start over, or joke around. It teaches you that the car is your own weapon, it can be responsible for the death of you and your family, or someone you bump into. It is not a toy or a game, and it only takes once to screw up and ruin your life forever.

I think one step we can take to reduce the number of deaths is to check training hours better. Lots of people lie about their time logging learning hours with a guardian and get on the road before they are ready, but that is a danger to all the other drivers out there and could get expensive and scary. I also think we need to put in place more speed checks, especially for high school students. Lots of people get too overconfident or simply don’t care about the speed limit putting themselves and others traveling on the other side of the road, beside, infront, or behind them at risk. I also think it is very important to get in the habit of checking your attitude in the car, and staying composed and relaxed, as well as being aware of the drivers alongside you. I also think that people need to be aware and wear seatbelts no matter what, they can save your life, and increase you and your friends or families chance of survival in a crash. Without it you are not only going to be ejected out of a window with momentum probably killing you, but during the impact you could hit and kill, or seriously injure your friends next to you as well.

I also feel that we should be limiting and watching our kids and other drivers access to alcohol and drugs. If they drive while impaired they begin to put so many people at risk. With young people wanting to have fun, I feel like they don’t take all these risks seriously. I have never experienced a car accident myself, thankfully, but I’ve seen them on the news and driving by. I also know students and middle aged people in town who have died as a result of a car accident. It scares me to think how quickly lives can be changed, and how quickly you could be driving down a road responsibly at the right speed, coming home from work and a drunk driver could swerve into your lane and crash into you. It takes seconds and life altering decisions. This is why I think we all need to be a bit more serious about driving and the responsibility that comes with your parents key, the trust they have in you, and the danger that you have opened for yourself. I think steps for me to take to keep becoming a safer and better driver are knowing that I can work on being more patient with people. I think getting to know my car’s manual and how every single button and mode work in the car and for what situations to use them in. Being above the speed limit will only get you to where you want to be a couple minutes faster and in my opinion is not worth the risk. I’ve taken steps by practicing with my father driving in unsafe weather conditions, snow, ice, and rain preparing myself for that block of ice I didn’t see, or the rain storm I got caught in and how to safely get to where I want to go. I believe that that is one of the best things I can do to prepare myself for any situation. Make sure to always limit distractions and concentrate on my own safety. I think more of this practice during unsafe conditions in a controlled environment is exactly what young drivers need who probably haven’t experienced much of this uncontrolled weather. I also feel like practicing having control in every situation is the best way to ensure that I will keep control of the vehicle. It is so important to be aware of the risks and the dangers of driving a car, to respect and take seriously the responsibility and privilege of being behind the wheel of a car. I do not take for granted having a care and being on the road and I constantly remind myself that it only takes a second for something life altering to happen. I take the responsibility of driving extremely serious and am very grateful that my parents have taken the time to make me as prepared as I can be…driving undistracted, respecting speed limits and always being aware that even if I am super responsible and cautious other driver’s or natural conditions could challenge my safety at any moment.