Great Responsibility

With great power comes great responsibility. Voltaire said this in the mid-18^th century and Uncle Ben from Spiderman repeated it. This quote is a summary of many things as people grow in society, and driving is one of them. With the great ability to transport yourself anywhere, comes the responsibility of preventing great harm.

Taking the responsibility of driving without hurting anyone or damaging anything is paramount, but sometimes people tend to forget that importance. Driver education offers those who need to learn about safe driving habits that drivers can adopt, like looking in all directions at a stop sign before proceeding forward, or staying with the speed limit even if you are running late for an appointment, which decrease the likeability for an accident to occur.

Although it sounds idealistic, there is a possibility for the world to reduce driving-related deaths down to zero, simply be following some guidelines and mindsets that are taught in driver education. Firstly, one should always make sure that their car is in a good enough condition to drive on public roads. Running out of gas in the highway can be a terrifying experience, and can potentially lead to an accident if the driver isn’t careful. Secondly, being both mentally and physically able to drive is paramount. There have been so many fatalities related to drinking-related or drug-related incidents, as well as road rage and speeding if someone is not calm enough to drive. Finally, securing distractions that could pull one’s attention from the road can save thousands of lives every year. 3,000 people die from distracted driving alone every year, and commonly it’s because of the driver checking their phone while driving. Just these three steps alone could drastically decrease the annual death rate of 38,000 people in the U.S.

Firsthand, I can share that I have seen instances of irresponsible driving by young high school students, not obeying stop signs and being very reckless with staying in their respective lanes. Although many don’t like to admit it, young minds can become infatuated with the new ability to drive. This became especially apparent to me when I was in a car with a young driver who did not pay enough attention to the road. They kept joking with other friends in the car and was way above the speed limit, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I did not spend time to talk to that person about their irresponsible driving, but hopefully they will spend some time in the near future to review certain steps, like specified above, to practice better driving habits.

With but some simple steps and procedures, lives could continue going on with their daily commutes, contributing to society, and being people for other people. It is always unfortunate to see a death that could have so easily been prevented, but that only means we collectively have to try harder to reach everyone and give the message, “With great power comes great responsibility.”