Don’t Become a Statistic

Driver’s education courses and resources should be available for all students, as it is imperative that future drivers keep the roads safe for themselves and others. They learn their state’s traffic laws as well as the skills needed to safely operate a vehicle in that course. Many teenagers do not take a driver’s education course in high school, as it is oftentimes not available for them due to funding issues. So, they learn how to drive right typically from their parents or from other close parental figures. My father, for example, taught me how to drive by going from parking lots straight to a busy 12-lane highway “for fun”. While I ended up not getting into any accident, it was terrifying at the time. If I did not have good reflexes and good luck, I likely would have gotten into an accident.

If I had a driver’s education course in high school, I would have had more practice around smaller areas before transitioning to more populated ones. Putting the responsibility to teach future drivers how to operate a vehicle on their parents can be risky, as some are not as great at driving as they believe they are. After driving for years, many adults, as I had witnessed, have become “comfortable”. They are driving while texting or playing a game on their phone with one hand. They feel a need to answer texts that likely could wait or be answered in a phone call, so they greatly increase their risk of getting into an accident and hurting themselves and others. I have often seen my father writing entire emails while driving, and when I ask to respond for him while I am in the passenger seat, he gets frustrated at me for not believing he is a competent driver. Being able to multitask between driving and texting is not a sign of a great driver- it shows an ignorant one.

The easiest way to prevent deaths when it comes to driving is taking a few simple steps at limiting distractions. I never drive with my phone in my hand. I instead bought a holder for my phone that stays near my console so I can glance at it when I need to follow a GPS’ directions. If a text is so important to respond to, I either pull over, ask a passenger to respond for me, or I instead call them. I do not eat or drink if I am actively moving, as looking away from the road for even a second is a risk. I will admit that I have been on my phone when driving before, and I have almost gotten into accidents. Peripheral vision is not enough to help one in knowing when to stop their car.

Another smart way to prevent deaths is to reduce speeding. Being honest, I have sped a lot in the two years I have been driving. It becomes so easy to get into a habit of speeding- just one day being late to school makes a kid speed, and they get into a daily habit of doing it. It can be especially easy to do at night, as there are less cars out and a smaller chance of getting caught. But that can easily become deadly. One car may forget to turn their headlights on at night, and if someone is driving 80+ mph and looking at their phone, they will not notice the faint outline of the car in front of them, and they will get into an accident.

My mother especially used to make me nervous when she would drive me to school when I was younger. She has struggled with drug and alcohol addictions since I was little, so I rarely ever saw her sober. She used to drive me to school some mornings, and even as a seven-year-old, I was scared. She would also often be on her phone and/or looking at herself in the mirror while applying makeup to look nice for work. One time while driving to school, she was putting on mascara while driving extremely inebriated, and we got into a small car accident. Thankfully, it was just a small bump, but it was still scary. If we had collided with another car five minutes before while we were on the highway going 80+ mph, we both would have easily died. Being in the car with my drunk and high mother as a little kid always terrified me, even if we were going around the corner. Seeing my mother like that taught me to never touch drugs or alcohol, and being in the car with her forced me to be terrified of being a distracted driver.

While I have learned to prevent distractions in relation to my phone, I still sometimes speed and drive without a seatbelt, as I simply forget to put it on. I am aware of everything going on in the area while I am driving, but being alert is not enough if the car in front of me randomly brakes while I am going 80+ mph on the highway, and I simply do not have enough time to slow the car down in time. Being alert is not enough if a car at the other side of the intersection decides to ram into me, and I fall out of the car and die because I forgot to put my seatbelt on.

I try to help others become safe drivers by giving them examples of my mother being an irresponsible driver and getting us into accidents. I give them simple solutions, like when my friend needs to respond to a text, I offer to respond for them or hit the “call” button. When my friend is scared of being late for work or school, I try to help them find a faster route or a way to get them to leave for their drive earlier. In the end, it is always better to be late to work or school than to become a statistic. Driver’s education courses are necessary to help make our future drivers safe ones, and it needs to become more accessible. Not everyone can afford to pay for expensive driving courses offered by different companies.