In the Drivers seat

Driving is an important part of life and driving safe is a necessity. Learning how to drive and do it properly is key to being a good driver. As teenagers, we might think it’s a pain to go through, but we are actually lucky to have the opportunity for proper driving lessons. Driver’s education is a course that everyone should take to know the rules and basic safeties of the road. Knowing the basic safety of the road can help you in any situation you are in and can be the difference between a car ride home or not going home at all. The 3 biggest things that can help you be a safe driver and reduce accidents or death is paying attention to your surroundings, making sure everyone is safe, never be distracted by outside sources, and follow the rules of the road.

Paying attention to your surroundings and making sure everyone is safe is one of the first things that you learn to do while taking drivers education. They do this because it is one of the most basic, but most important things that you can do to stay safe when you are driving. Paying attention even includes watching that everyone has their seatbelt on in your vehicle when you are driving. It is a law and you are responsible for your passengers and that they are safe while they are in your car. Studies show that if you take drivers education, your chances of being in a car crash go down by 2%, improving your odds of not crashing by quite a bit. This shows the effects of driver’s education and how it helps new drivers adjust to the road. If you are able to scan your surroundings and be aware of what is going on around you, the chances of you crashing are next to none. Thankfully, I have never been in a car accident.

How do we prevent deaths related to driving? Distractions on the road are a big problem in how even the smallest distraction in a short amount of time, can cause the most fatal crash. Around 3000 people die from being distracted leading to a car crash, which accounts for 8-9% of all car crashes within the United States. This is a very large amount, when it can all be stopped with one simple solution, don’t be distracted from the road. Some ways that this can be solved is turning your phone on silent, as no message is more important than your life! Laws are being put in place to ban phone use for the driver of a vehicle, hopefully this will persuade drivers to not be on their phones, like ever. If you have to use your phone then safely pull over. Some other distractions are the people around you in your car or the music being too loud while you are driving. Drivers’ education can also make you aware of distractions that you didn’t even know about and that you need to be cautious when these things are around you. Do not be overconfident in your ability to multitask either, as this can lead to you being distracted and then lead to an accident. Do not multitask when you are driving as it will not help anything. Both of these can easily be solved, as you can tell the other people in the car to let you concentrate on driving, don’t multi-task and you can turn down the volume (or off!) of your music while you are stopped.

Following the rules of the road may seem like the easiest part of driving but it is also the most important part and this is why these rules are in place. If you put safety first and follow these rules and if everyone followed them it would lead to a much safer driving environment and fewer accidents. When you do not follow these rules, it leads to you being a danger to yourself and those drivers or others around you. Never driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Speeding is another problem when driving on the road, as every driver around you needs to react to your speeding, therefore leading to it being a danger. Being over-confident while driving is part of the reason that drivers believe that they can speed, as they think that their abilities are perfect and that means they don’t have to follow the rules of the road anymore. This is not true as at any moment you might not be able to control the situation or the road conditions as you were not following the rules of the road in the first place. Being responsible in your abilities and not being overconfident in them is an important thing to do as you should always follow the rules of the road no matter how good a driver that you or your peeps think you are.

Being a safe driver on the road doesn’t ask for much from you. It requires you to pay attention to your surroundings, make sure everyone is the car is safe, drive responsibly, don’t drive impaired and follow the rules of the road. If all of these are followed, then you and those around you should be much safer. Being safe should be a part of everyone’s life, as it benefits everyone on and off the road. I am a safe driver and I try to lead by example for my peers and younger students. Better drivers are responsible citizens.

Thank you for considering me for the Driver Education Initiative Award and taking the time to read my essay