Safe driving

When kids start out taking driver’s education classes and in car sessions, they are not really thinking about the possibility of dying. They are excited about the chance to learn something new and take the wheel of the car to get going to different places. They don’t know that driving a car comes with so many responsibilities. Kids can’t process that kind of information because it is totally overwhelming. They can read about the laws, listen to different teachers or parents talk about safe driving and try to practice as much as they can in the car. Most of the time kids are taking the class so they can get to the next steps of taking the written exam and then actually driving a car.

Driver Education could add a bit more tough love by sharing many of these facts. Kids need to know how important basic skills are as well as how dangerous distracted driving is. They could listen to people that have been impacted by an accident talk about how it has affected their lives. They could watch videos about what happens after an accident and how it is not like a video game. They need to know about the actual impact a person or family feels when an accident or death happen to them. Maybe that would help them take it a bit more seriously before they get their license.

Having a phone in your car is probably the worst thing that has happened to driving. Sure it is great for navigation, but people are so drawn to looking at their phones that it makes it almost impossible to not touch it while you are driving. I think there could be stronger laws about not using your hand held phone while driving. There are so many factors to safe driving that seeing people holding up their phone as they talk on speaker phone, text someone or look something up on the internet makes me incensed. Maybe there could be cameras that could take a picture of the person holding their phones as they drive that would help a police officer pull them over with cause.

Speeding and reckless driving are also a big issue around the DMV. It is pretty scare how people think that basic laws somehow do not apply to them. I see so many people flying past stop signs, speeding and changing lanes quickly and just not having any regard for other people or other drivers. I am not sure how an officer can be better prepared to catch someone going so fast or driving that poorly, but it seems like they need to post more officers on major roads to see the bad drivers in the act.

Obviously, driving under the influence of any substance can cause terrible accidents and death as well. I can tell that since marijuana was made legal in Maryland, everyone thinks that means you can drive around while smoking a controlled substance. This is so infuriating to me and it makes me very sad to know that people are driving—usually at high speeds—while they are impaired and it could cause a terrible accident with someone else. Tougher laws on smoking while driving need to be better enforced.

To be honest I have seen friends and family drive irresponsibly. Sometimes an adult is on their phone talking or texting. Often my friends will be distracted with other kids or loud music. I am so lucky to have my own car and I choose to drive most places because those situations make me feel so uncomfortable. It is easier to take my own car and be in control of what happens behind the wheel. I know there are no guarantees of my safety based on how other people drive or my own possible mistakes, but I do feel confident in my ability to drive safely.

I try to make sure that I am not too tired to drive. I like to put my phone away in the center console so it does not distract me. I drive the speed limit and try to avoid distractions like loud music or friends acting crazy. It is not easy as a teenager, but the thought of hurting someone else or myself scares me enough to take the responsibility of driving really seriously. My brother will be getting his license soon and I have started talking to him about many of these topics. He is not going to be thinking about it like that since he is just excited to get the keys and go, but as a big brother with some experience driving I am hoping that I can make the point that it is always better to be safe than sorry.