2024 Drivers Ed Essay Contest

Driving safety rules are often discussed in my school as well as at home. Driving safety is not only important to me, but it is also essential to our society. By practicing driving safety, I would also be protecting other people, which is very important to me. It is not only about protecting yourself but also protecting others. Distractions while driving is one major threat to a peaceful driving experience. Knowing that a driver’s license is a privilege, I understand the need to take driving safety seriously. There are a few instances that helped teach me this lesson early on.

A primary reason to drive safely is that accidents can happen even if it is not your fault. You can be the most efficient and skilled driver but still face the threat of an accident due to personal distractions. Therefore, it is essential to eliminate and avoid any possible distractions while driving. This past year, my mother, father, and sister were in a scary car accident. No one was hurt, but it did affect everyone profoundly. They were driving home from a shopping trip out of town, and it started to ice and snow. While they were driving, they ran over a piece of ice. The car did a 360 spin and ended up in a ditch on the side of the road. My parents are safe drivers, but it shows that in some conditions, you must take extra safety steps to make sure you are safe. Luckily, no one was hurt, but it taught me a valuable lesson. That lesson is that while driving, it is vital to focus on the factors that contribute to traffic. Factors such as lights, constructions, weather conditions, and other drivers, to name a few. It can be challenging to focus on these factors if you are distracted while driving.

Another example that happened to me involves an example of how weather can impact driving. Driving to a friend’s house in an area in which I do not drive very often, it began to snow heavily. My friend lived on a steep hill, and my car had a hard time making it up the mountain. After a short while of attempting to make it up the hill, I decided the safest thing to do was to stop and park where I was and call for my friend’s dad to help me. By making that decision, I ensured that I would not cause any damage or get into an accident. Driving in those conditions meant I needed to be extra diligent in my focus and ensure that there were no distractions. The distractions could be loud music, other passengers, or phone calls or text messages. This instance provided me a glimpse of how bad it could have gotten if I had not focused on the driving as well as the conditions around me.

Going to high school, I have seen plenty of examples of how distracting drivers can have a negative impact. I have had classmates lose their licenses or even their driving privileges from their parents for not following driving safety rules around texting and driving. This was one of the rules that my parents and I went over. What I realized was that the rules for teen drivers are more strict, and that is because we do not have much experience driving, and the rules want to keep us safe. Therefore, I took a few steps while driving to eliminate any distractions. First, I make sure that there are not too many people in the car with me. Extra people can cause distractions and possibly create an accident. Second, I make sure that I understand where I am driving so that I am aware of the possible conditions. These could be dirt roads, busty highway traffic, or driving uphill in bad weather. I also make sure to keep my phone in my glove box. By doing that, I am not distracted by notifications on my phone, and I can focus on the road. Following these steps will ensure that I am not distracted while driving, therefore making an accident less likely.

Furthermore, there are a few technological advances that help with these distractions. One is cell phone and Bluetooth technology. With the new cars, people do not need to look at their phones at all. With a touch of a steering wheel, the driver can speak and read text messages from loved ones without once looking at the physical phone. Lastly, new alarms and sensors in cars provide more warnings to drivers. Instead, it can be alarms that go off if the hands are not on the steering wheel or loud beeps that you hear if you are not driving in a straight line. By using these technological tools, drivers can avoid distractions and severe harm to themselves and other drivers.