The Thrill of the Road

I got my license as soon as I could because I was so excited to start driving. I wanted to explore the world and see everything, but ever since I got my license at 16, I have seen a lot of crazy and unusual things on the road. Whether it’s another vehicle driving recklessly or a hazardous object on the road, there’s a lot of things to worry about. Luckily for me, I took a class that was able to prepare me for situations like these. I wouldn’t be able to cautiously avoid these dangerous scenarios if it wasn’t for everything I learned in Drivers Education.

Deaths caused by vehicles are at an insane rate and I think we need to take any precaution we can to try to lower that rate. I feel like taking the Driver’s Education class is a step in that direction. Taking this class as a requirement has helped me, as well as so many others prepare for scary and dangerous scenarios, which I believe has led to a decrease in deaths. I feel like teaching everyone to be more aware of their surroundings and showing them the most safe way to handle a vehicle couldn’t be more important in saving lives, but I feel like we can do even more.

Obviously, it would be near impossible to diminish deaths caused by vehicles to zero, but I believe we could try. A step that I believe would work would be retaking the drivers test every few years. If we had to retake the driver’s test, or go over a study guide every decade, I feel like more people would remember the laws of the road and make it a safer environment. Another step that may work would be requiring everyone to take a breathalyzer test before starting the vehicle. Although it would be annoying, and could be bypassed, I feel like that could still save lives that otherwise could be taken from people driving under the influence. In the United States alone, about 11,000 pedestrians and innocent people lose their lives to stupid people who drink and drive instead of taking a much safer route. I feel like any steps we take could help, but it all starts with us being better.

Since I can drive, I rarely get in the vehicle with my friends. The convenience of me driving isn’t the only reason though. There have been numerous times where I’m a passenger in a vehicle and my driver has made me feel unsafe or threatened. I’ve seen them texting and driving, I’ve seen them being unaware of their surroundings and it downright scares me. I think highly of my driving and I know others do as well. Due to this, I always offer to give people rides but I always wish that we all could pay more attention to the road. This is why I feel like there is a lot more that we could get done to cause less accidents, save more lives.

Although I haven’t been in a crash myself, I want to share an experience one of my close friends went through pretty recently. As she was crossing the crosswalk, a distracted driver, who needed to send that snap, ran over her leg. The driver, after nailing my friend, decided to just drive away to try to escape the consequences. My friend was left on the ground with a dislocated hip, knee, and ankle, and shattered numerous bones throughout that leg. Luckily there were a lot of witnesses and one of them was able to stop the driver before they took off too far. She was eventually helped to the hospital where she did recover, but she states that that was one of the most scary experiences in her life and she wishes it never happened. Hearing her story and the true dangers of maneuvering a vehicle is why I push so hard to create safer roads.

When I came across this scholarship, I felt like it was a way for me to protest to work on making the streets better for other vehicles, but especially pedestrians. There are tens of thousands of people who die every year for reasons we can prevent, but it all starts with us. We can do our part to make each other better and make sure we have our full attention on the road. Nothing is more important than keeping the people in this world safe and alive.