Name: Aubrey Howard
From: Scottsdale, Arizona
Votes: 0
Driver’s Safety Essay
I have always been of the opinion that everyone regardless of social standing or age should take some sort of driving course when learning to drive. Everyday people around the United States and the world make easily avoided mistakes either because they never learned properly or weren’t paying attention. Now, obviously not everything is fixed but with a proper education, many accidents concerning dumb mistakes could be resolved if people took more in-depth classes when learning to drive. These classes should teach not only how to drive, but how to park, and all the courtesies and expectations that should be set while driving so everyone can drive safely and without worry of death.
Some of the steps I believe are necessary to reduce the number of deaths related to driving are taking a class with an in-person instructor, reading and understanding the rules of the road, and regularly practicing the necessary skills for driving. I believe that everyone needs to take some sort of in-person driving course with an instructor and the consequences related to any mistakes they could make about driving on an open road. In my experience, doing classes that have instructors actively critiquing any mistakes made is far better than only reading about the rules of the road and driving with a guardian. Most adolescents who are learning to drive become uncomfortable with their parents in the passenger’s seat. Some parents have a hard time remaining calm and collected during driving lessons with their children, making their children uncomfortable and nervous. This can increase the chances of potential harm to anyone involved and damage to the cars being driven. However, an instructor is trained to remain neutral and
watchful, so the student learns from each mistake and absorbs those active lessons right in front of them. This is important because it provides the student with a calm and progressive experience instead of an experience where they could have felt frightened or nervous. After all, they’re worried about what their parents will do or say to them if they make a mistake. In addition to a proper instructor, every student driver needs to read the rules of the road handbook so they understand general expectations for drivers on open roads and what could cause them to get in trouble with law enforcement. Additionally, it’s important to practice driving skills like parking. Overall, student drivers require stable and nurturing environments to learn, and they need to be active in trying to learn the necessary skills to prevent the loss of life.
Concerning whether I’ve ever been in a car accident I would have to say yes as of this summer. My family and I were in Florence and were going around a very strange sort of roundabout and my dad was having a hard time trying to get out. As he was following the navigation it suddenly told him to take a left turn into a sort of side street within the roundabout and as he made the left turn a moped came up on his left and hit the side of the vehicle. Now in this situation, it’s evident that mistakes were made and that while the result wasn’t death, the moped driver was injured, and the rental car we were driving was damaged. These events could have possibly been avoided in several different ways but in the end, it happened. The whole situation was rather frustrating too because we were only five minutes from the apartment, we were staying in. Nevertheless, this situation was the result of an accident that could have been prevented if my dad had been more careful when making his turn and if the moped had been more watchful of his surroundings. Both parties were at fault, and both had to deal with the consequences.
Finally, some of the steps I could take to be a better and safer driver are to not look at my phone at all while I drive and to maintain my speed at the speed of traffic so I’m not a hindrance or a safety hazard by going too slow or fast. I tend to not look at my phone unless I know I’m at a
long light or I get a message while stopped. I’ve always been a relatively safe driver but just like anyone I can get distracted and have been in situations where things could have gone very bad had the other car not been paying attention. I don’t like being in those types of situations and I have been working to improve my awareness of my surroundings.
