How and Why You Should Drive Safely

Driver’s Ed should be an integral part of any student driver’s education because of the valuable lessons it teaches you about the road and your car. Going into Driver’s Ed, I did not know much about cars and how to drive one confidently. Now, I can say that I have learned how to handle myself on the road and be safe when driving. People who don’t take Driver’s Ed can fall into making mistakes or not doing the little things, which will make them less careful and more dangerous on the road both to themselves and other drivers. Steps to remedy car accidents and deaths can include having a coach be with you for a certain amount of hours so they can instruct you and teach you to be careful. A lot of parents may do their best to help their children drive, but not all of them are effective teachers. I went on YouTube to find someone who could help me and I learned a lot from them, and even more when I had a certified teacher sit with me while I drove. Making coaches more easily accessible or dropping the price for a coach can encourage more people to pursue a proper driving instructor, which in turn will lead to less driving accidents.

I have never been in a car accident, but once as a passenger my grandfather almost hit a pedestrian crossing the street. He was not paying attention and almost hit her while he was turning. This moment scared me and made me think about how I could make a mistake like this if I was being inattentive and careless. I go to school in DC, so I also could have easily been the pedestrian. A mistake by either the pedestrian or driver can result in death, and it could all be so easily avoidable. Thinking back, my grandfather was ignoring my grandma and making it a point to shut her off from himself. He may have been so intent on doing this in order to pay attention or to just annoy her, but either way he was not paying attention to the road. Even when I am older and have many years of driving under my belt, I should not be willing to focus on other things like conversations or annoying people. I need to pay attention to the road because if I don’t I could easily end up killing someone or hurting them to the point of no recovery and ruining their lives.

To become a better driver, I can get rid of any distractions such as cell phones, the radio, and conversations with passengers. Being careful starts with paying attention, and having my attention on other things will keep me from being safe. I should also pay more attention to other drivers; just because I am doing everything I can to be safe doesn’t mean that other people are being safe. I shouldn’t be quick to trust other drivers because they can be just as or even more prone to mistakes than me. Because of these things, I should be careful of both my environment in the car and of other drivers on the road. To help others, I should make it a point to respect what they need to be a good driver. If they need music to keep them awake or me to not talk to them, I should be willing to comply with them. I should also call them out if they’re not being careful with how they are driving. If they are on the phone and texting while driving, I should tell them to stop. Taking note of a driver’s health is also important. If they are sleepy and unable to drive properly, I need to be willing to step up and tell them to take a break even if they don’t want to take a break.