Drivers Ed: A Safety Key

Driver’s
Education: A Safety Key

By
Hannah Hayes

Properly
teaching student drivers on the safety procedures of driving on the
roads and teaching students to always be aware of their surroundings
is very important to reducing the amount of deaths that result from
unsafe driving. Drivers ed is a great way of teaching students
on the safety of driving, by teaching them how to not only drive
safely themselves, but to always watch for other unsafe drivers.
Research has shown that distracted driving is the number one cause of
road accidents in the United States. Drivers ed stresses on the
importance of driving undistracted (no cell phones, driving under the
influence, etc.), following all traffic laws, and how to drive
defensively.

A
few steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths while
driving would first be to always follow all traffic laws: wearing
seatbelts at all times, going the speed limit, and using only
hand-free device systems (Bluetooth). These are all crucial to ensure
that driving is as safe as possible. Some other steps would be to
strictly follow no drinking and driving or riding as a passenger to
anyone who is drunk or has been drinking. Alcohol blocks the speed of
which your brain interprets certain situations, making it much more
difficult to be aware of your surroundings while driving, increasing
your chances of a car accident. Another step would be to require all
high school students to take a drivers ed course to ensure that
all new drivers have a proper safety background before getting behind
the wheel on their own.

I
have never personally been in an accident, but I have had friends and
family who have been in vehicle accidents from other irresponsible
drivers. One year ago, my coworker had just left work. Ten minutes
after she had left, we heard ambulances and fire trucks heading in
the same direction she was driving. After a few minutes passed, she
called in a panic saying she had been in an accident and needed help.
A car had not been paying attention and crashed into the back of her
car as she was making a turn. She was rushed to the ER with a broken
wrist, and dislocated vertebrae in her back. She had to wear a cast
and had to wear a neck brace, and her car was completely totaled. Now
she has to live with an injured back and neck for the rest of her
life, and she will never be able to do sports as she used to.

Ways
that I, as well as others, can become better and safer drivers would
be to pay attention to other drivers, always follow traffic rules,
never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, never using cell
phones while driving, and being well educated of how to properly
drive defensively.