Name: Sara Chmielewski
From: Fort Pierce, Florida
Votes: 0
Sara
Chmielewski
(772)-577-1549
Everyone
Wants to Make It Home
I
firmly believe that people should educate, not isolate. Do not scorn
those with less knowledge than yourself. Instead, educate them and
help them understand why certain issues have such importance.
Providing the youth with a solid driving education enables us to shed
light on the issues that accompany unsafe driving, such as speeding,
road rage, distracted driving, and driving under the influence.
Driving responsibly is much more than a commitment to not drink and
drive, although that is certainly a start. When someone gets behind
the wheel of a car, they are commanding over two thousand pounds of
machinery. More often than not, the magnitude of this responsibility
goes unnoticed or forgotten. Acknowledging the responsibility begins
with encouraging upcoming drivers to attend Drivers Ed courses.
Drivers
Ed not only promotes habits like following the speed limit and
driving sober, but also teaches traffic laws. Many car accidents can
be caused by simply not knowing what action to take in certain
situations, such as what to do at an intersection with a flashing
yellow light. Additionally, Drivers Ed provides students with the
opportunity to practice driving under the supervision of an
experienced instructor. To truly promote safe driving, however, the
encouragement of good driving habits should not end when students
leave the classroom.
The
road rage of other drivers has nearly gotten me into a car accident
more times than I can count. Road-rage impacted drivers swerve in and
out of traffic, speed viciously, and cut off drivers behind them. I
once had a driver so enraged with another that he attempted to swerve
around that car. Unfortunately, he didn’t look to his right to see my
car directly beside his, and I was run right off the road as I
swerved into the grass to avoid collision. In another
situation, a friend of mine, Jasmine, died in a car accident on my
Junior prom night because her friend was driving irresponsibly.
Jasmine’s friend was going ten mph over the speed limit and driving
with a permit and no adult supervision.
Steps
that can be personally taken to encourage safe driving involve
ensuring that not only we, but our friends and family, know the
importance of driving safely. Speeding, road rage, distracted
driving, and driving under the influence are all factors that
contribute to a multitude of car crashes. We need to encourage our
friends to follow the speed limit because speeding promotes more
devastating accidents. The higher the speed upon collision, the more
destruction there will be. Take the phones out of the hands of loved
ones when they get behind the wheel of a car. Call a cab if you see
an intoxicated individual on their way home, even if you’ve never
met them before.
Take a deep
breath while driving in frustrating situations, because everyone
around you wants to make it home.
