The Unfortunate Realities of Driving

Driver education is critical so that the number of deaths resulting from driving can significantly reduce. I believe that the driving education system needs to become stronger, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe this because I turned sixteen during the pandemic, so I had to complete driving school online, and I do not recall a lot of what I learned. Unfortunately, I am not a strong online learner, so recalling the information from driving school can be difficult, and there are thousands of people who also struggle to learn from online material. This can become a frightening statistic for driving because how many teenagers or adults had to complete driving school online because of the global pandemic, and what percent of them are not confident online learners and possibly cheated throughout the process?

The question as to what steps can be enforced so that the number of driving-related deaths are reduced is complicated and would need to be extremely strategic. The unfortunate reality is that people know of the dangers of driving drunk or high, texting and driving, speeding, racing, or having too many people in their cars. Messages regarding said scenarios are verbalized and commercialized daily, so what is the next step so that people do not want to risk dying or harming others? The essential idea that I believe could be implemented in the near future, because of great technological advancements, is one day installing breathalyzers, camera sensors, and speed sensors within cars. I understand that, at first, this would be very expensive to install into every car, but one day it could become a normal and affordable aspect of cars. The breathalyzers will be mandatory to start the car, which can prevent driving while drunk or high. The motion camera will cause the car to slow down at a safe but efficient pace until the driver is focused, and, once again, the car will not start if the camera detects too many people within the car. Lastly, the speed sensors will notify the driver of his or her speed and slow the car down safely until it lowers to the appropriate speed. If the driver continues to drive at alarming speeds, then the sensor will notify authorities of the speed of the driver, his or her license plate number, car registration, and his or her exact location.

I am fortunate enough to have not experienced a car accident thus far, but I have witnessed my friends and family drive irresponsibly. A few of my friends, along with my dad, drive at extreme speeds and text and drive. This does upset me because I know of the dangers that can occur from being this irresponsible because there is a high chance that other innocent individuals could be harmed or killed from these actions. I try to volunteer to drive as much as I can because I do not drive at alarming speeds or text and drive. I do not attempt to educate my friends or families of the dangers relating to their actions, but we are adults, and they know that it is a severe risk that they take everytime they sit behind the wheel.

The steps that I can take to become a safer driver are to reduce my speed and not daydream. As I previously stated, I do not drive at alarming speeds, but I do occasionally speed, which increases my risk of crashing and possibly hurting or killing myself, or worse, harming or killing others. I also have the tendency to, at times, daydream while I dream. I know that this is from a lack of focus while I am driving, but the scary aspect of daydreaming while driving is that I do not realize that I am daydreaming until I refocus. My fear is that one day I will daydream while driving and accidentally hit another car from going through either a red light or a stop sign. Fortunately, I have learned that listening to certain genres of music or podcasts helps me to not daydream while I drive.

To help others become safer on the road, I would suggest for them to think of a family member or a friend, who drives similarly to them, wrecking their car, possibly dying, hurting themselves, or killing and harming others. This can happen within a split second. I also want people to think about how their families and friends will react to knowing that their final moments on earth were reckless, dangerous, and they knew of the potential consequences to their actions. Family members and friends have to live with knowing that their loved one died doing something that they were told not to do daily because of commercials, billboards, friends, or family. I want to advise people to thoroughly think about how they want their final actions to be remembered. Do they want to be remembered for texting, drinking, or speeding while driving and they crashed and killed themselves and possibly others, or do they want to drive safely so that their inevitable death could potentially be one with dignity and respect.