Driver Education Initiative Award Scholarship Essay

My name is Ariel Gonzalez, I am a high school senior. Many kids in my grade have cars and licenses and although they pass the written test and the driving test it doesn’t mean that they’re safe drivers. Many of my friends have been in car crashes just from leaving the school parking lot which is unbelievable. Driver education is so important because it ensures that drivers understand and adhere to traffic laws and regulations. This knowledge not only reduces the risk of accidents but also helps drivers avoid fines, penalties, and legal troubles associated with traffic violations. Driving comes with social responsibilities, and I feel that many people (mostly teens) don’t understand that. Programs that teach driver education contribute to safer and more harmonious communities. Driver education isn’t at all about just getting the license, it’s about knowing the skills and responsibilities so that everyone can travel safely along the way. Ive been in many car accidents (nonfatal or severe), so I understand the fear you feel in that small amount of time. One of the accidents I remember very specifically, my mom and I were on our way back to our house and we hit a stop light, almost home. When someone hit us from the back, everyone was okay, but we were all in shock. I was about twelve when this incident occurred and i don’t remember much about what happened next but what stuck with me was the feeling, the fear that I would die or be injured physically or mentally. Sitting in the car while my mom went to go talk with them, I wondered why they rear ended us, maybe their brakes stopped working or they were going too fast. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, like any kid would, and when my mom got back in the car, she said it was because they were on their phone, it was because of their own incompetence to not do the one thing that causes major accidents. At that moment I couldn’t help but think about all the other times that people have gotten into car crashes due to things that you are taught are wrong to do while driving. So many people lose their lives to simple things like being on their phone or talking to other people in the car and there are so many precautions and steps to make sure that you are safe while driving but we never pay attention to that because we think it’ll never happen to us. Since we can’t seem to follow the normal precautions and steps to safe driving I think the only other option is to increase more measures that will help reduce the amount of driving related deaths like; strict enforcement of traffic laws, promotion of safe driving practices, advancement in vehicle safety, driver education and training, monitoring and improving road design, and the most important one of all encouraging responsible driving behavior. When I look at the graph I and heartbroken at the fact that so many have sadly lost their lives in a motor vehicle accident. The graph just keeps increasing with no sign of decreasing. This is exactly why strict driver education is so important. Adults, teens, kids, babies, they all are in a car at some point in their life and at any time at that point their lives can be taken away from them in a matter of seconds just from something so simple. I have come to realize that most drivers ed classes barely teach people the basics on driving, they just tell you to do the online quizzes that you can obviously cheat on and not have to pay attention to them to get a good grade, this happens especially when it comes to teenagers that are my age. Teenagers just want to get their license so they can go places without their parents and have fun with their friends but just because they got their license doesn’t mean that they paid any attention to the curriculum that was being taught in the class. Driving education is so important, more important than what we think it is, and we can’t just push it to the side or sweep it under the rug, we need to make some changes so people can finally understand how important it is. I am not driving yet but when I do start driving i will make sure to learn and understand all the dangers of the road to make sure that nothing bad happens to me or anyone around me.