Be Your Own Superhero

One of the most prominent things about being a teenager is getting your first car. The classes for three weeks, the endless paperwork. And then, the joy of being handed the keys. It’s like a dream come true, a rite of passage. Until you realize that the roads aren’t like a drive to the local pizza place.

Driver’s education serves an important role in our modern lives today and has since cars were first invented. But lately, many people don’t realize how truly important it is to be safe on the roads instead of trying to juggle a phone in your hand. To a new driver, driver’s education looks like classes for three weeks and then you magically get your license. But throughout the training, it’s more than finally being able to get behind the wheel and take a joyride. In order to obtain a driver’s license, you need to prove your worth of it as you take the classes.

Driver’s education is where you take classes and learn about what it means to be a safe driver on today’s increasingly dangerous roads. It teaches you why it is important to pay attention when you are driving and the consequences of unsafe driving, which include driving under the influence and speeding. It also teaches you the impact that unsafe driving can have on pedestrians and people who have been hurt by dangerous driving.

Many people are unaware that their driving can possibly hurt someone. They are either in a rush to get to where they’re going, or busy texting someone on their phone. Not even the justice system has done enough to hold those responsible for killing pedestrians or causing roadside accidents. Fines for driving under the influence, or a DUI, vary from state to state. People in states with the cheapest fines, such as Maine, Arizona, Mississippi, North Carolina, and others, will have a higher chance of getting away with their crimes. These fees simply don’t have a big enough impact on those who commit these crimes. One thing we can do to reduce driving deaths is to increase the fees so that people will think twice before making poor choices on the road. Another thing we can do to help reduce deaths from driving is to change the speed limits. Speed limits on highways and interstates are too high and are causing accidents and forcing costs of damage into the billions, if not millions of dollars. Jail time for offenders should also be harsher. Instead of it being a month or two, it should at least be a year or two in jail. That way, they will have more time to think about their actions and how to get their lives together before they’ll be able to get back in the driver’s seat again.

When I myself was just a toddler, I witnessed a truck swerving from side to side on the highway, and the excavator fell off the trailer. It was a mere twenty feet from the family car. It was pretty scary. Another incident happened when I was about eleven years old in the summer. My dad was driving fast on the highway, and hit a deer. It stank pretty bad and it ruined our Ford Escape, to the point where it had to be transferred to the junkyard. It was really sad to see my childhood car go, and it was the hardest of the losses I’ve had to face in my life.

Lastly, I wanted to conclude with how in the future I will become a safer driver and how I can help others stay safe on the road as well. I don’t currently have a car, but I do want to make sure that when I get one, I will set an example for others to follow in an effort to make road conditions better for everyone else. Before I get a car, I will educate myself on the costs of unsafe driving and how it could possibly affect my future. When I get a phone call, I will pull over and answer it rather than try to answer it using technological advances. I’m worried that if I try to push buttons while driving, it could get me hurt in an accident. It could even hurt or kill someone else if I wasn’t paying attention on the road. This is where mindfulness comes into play. Driving can be a mindful activity because you would be focusing on simply driving the car on the road and following the speed limit.

In conclusion, this is my essay on how we can improve modern driving for the future. The next time you are about to drive recklessly on the highway, think about the consequences and if you want to spend the rest of your life with the crimes of your past following you around. It will really sink in when people finally realize the dangers of unsafe driving and how truly important it is to keep your eyes on the road, no matter what. At the end of the day, your life — and maybe even the world — will be saved.