The Dangers of Driving

Elizabeth
Groulx

DMV
Edu Scholarship

7
July 2019

The
Dangers of Driving

Going
through my drivers’ education class, we heard countless horror
stories about the dangers of driving, whether it be driving drunk,
texting, or just being careless. Behind the wheel, those dangers
became much more real. The power I held just by driving a car like
millions of other Americans was more than I felt capable of handling;
however, as I learned to drive through drivers ed, I began
to feel more and more responsible and capable.

Drivers’
education is one of the most important things that every young
American experiences because, while it seems that one is only
learning the mechanics of driving and the rules of the road, students
are actually learning a new brand of thinking. It is a necessary and
integral step on the way to adulthood because in learning to drive,
students are learning how to manage new responsibilities and how to
act with caution and care. Teenagers taking drivers’ education are
also faced with a new realization: that their parents are not always
right. Many teenagers have observed their parents driving their whole
lives, often watching them text and drive or take other liberties,
driving aggressively rather than carefully. When students take
drivers’ education, they are told the proper way of driving and the
safest methods, which may be unfamiliar to the students. This is why
it is essential that all new drivers take drivers’ education.

While
it seems easy for parents to teach their children how to drive
because most parents are very experienced and have been safe drivers
for their children, many do not know the exact rules and tend to
drive less carefully because they have experience. Parents teaching
their new drivers how to manage a car are more likely to have their
children take risks that they would be able to manage but that their
children may not. Mandatory drivers’ education for all new drivers
would help to prevent many deaths related to driving. However, this
would only take care of new drivers, not people who have been driving
carelessly for years. Drivers’ education refresher courses should
be required every five years and all drivers should have to retake
the license test at the same time. This would help to spread
awareness of the dangers of driving to those who think that they know
everything and often take risks. This would also help to keep unsafe
drivers off the roads and decrease the number of deaths related to
driving.

Throughout
my childhood, I often saw my parents and my friends’ parents take
liberties while driving. Whether they were driving distracted,
speeding through yellow lights, or just passing a stop sign while
there were no other cars, the adults I saw driving often took risks
with not only their own lives, but also the lives of all of their
passengers. As a child, I felt that I was unable to speak up and warn
them against their decisions, but now having learned the right
practices, I know the dangers of driving distracted, drunk, and
speeding, and I am able to protect myself, my family, and the
drivers around me by speaking up against any poor decisions the
drivers around me may make, making the roads safer for everyone.