On Driving and Safety

Lawson
Stiegelmeyer

23
March, 2020

On Driving and Safety

Since
the creation and production of the first motor vehicle in 1899 up
until 2013, over 3.5 million people have died in fatal crashes, most
of which resulted from neglect and miseducation. As a permitted
driver aged 16, I may not be too experienced with the road, but I
have witnessed many issues regarding vehicular safety and inattentive
driving. People just don’t seem to understand the power and
responsibility that come with controlling a roadway vehicle. If each
and every driver was better at following the rules, and unfortunately
there’s no logical way to make that happen, our streets would be
relieved of many crashes. Undergoing drivers ed, as I am now,
is imperative for each and every person behind the wheel, without
excuse or fail, to keep our streets as protected from harm and
casualty as they can be. But, as important as drivers ed may
be, other steps must be taken persistently to remain safe.

If
we could remove distractions from the highways and crack down on
speeding laws, an immeasurable number of lives would be saved each
year. Every day upwards of 16 or 17 people die in
texting-while-driving related incidents that could be wholly avoided
if drivers were responsible and attentive toward the task at hand.
Some states and even a few local governments are illegalizing the use
of a driver’s cell phone when on the road because of the liability
the device poses. In 2016, about 28% of all U.S. driving-related
deaths were caused by those under the influence. Cracking down on
laws against such driving would prevent much unnecessary expiry. In
2017, 9,717 deaths were caused by speeding. It’s a real problem
that we face and if only speeding laws were seriously cracked down
upon, we’d have safer roadways. I, innocent as I may be, have faced
issues of speeding safety in the past.

I’m
not supposed to ride along with friends or persons under the age of
18, but I decided to break that rule once for school. Our jazz choir,
True North, was to perform at the district’s football stadium that
morning and we were carpooling so I decided it was okay. I rode with
Michael, Maddie, Natalie, and Josh, who drove. Josh was going 20 mph
over the prescribed limit and acting invincible. I was secretly quite
frantic, but I decided, wrongly, not to speak up. We got to our
destination fine and, although I was a little frazzled, we sang and
left all in one piece. From this experience, I’ve learned just how
important road safety is and I’ve become passionate in my education
so that I don’t ever end up being someone who causes a situation
like that one.

Now
when I drive, parental advisor present, I always follow the rules to
the best of my ability. I do everything in my power to remain
undistracted and I believe all driver and those soon-to-be should
follow suit.