Driver
education can lead to better awareness. If people are educated on the
most common ways accidents occur and warned how often they occur, it
should lead to a decrease in accidents. The problem is, people don’t
take the warnings seriously. They continue to be distracted by their
phones through texting and calling. Even with lessons on driving
awareness, people still aren’t taking responsibility to drive
safely. Driving education teaches new drivers about the various signs
that should be heeded as well as the importance of lines and the use
of signals, among other rules. This should continue. What needs to be
added are ways to convey the seriousness of driving.

For young drivers, conducting a
car may be nerve-wracking and therefore they will use greater care on
the road. Once they become comfortable with driving is when they
begin to ignore the precautions they practiced before. People of all
ages and experiences need to be reminded by those who have been in or
have lost loved ones in accidents how important vigilance is on the
streets. When reminded that the worst case scenario while driving
occurs 34,000 times a year—over 3,000 times a day—has a sobering
effect, especially if delivered from first-hand accounts.

I
was in the back of the car with two friends of mine, while another
drove. On the freeway, I noticed our driver take out her phone and
begin to text, taking both hands off of the wheel. She used her knees
to steer and looked up occasionally. Inevitably, the car almost hit
another automobile and our driver had to tug furiously on the wheel
to swerve away from a collision. We were safe, but it was too close
of a call to turn a blind eye to. Phones can be safely used when
parked, not when driving. I can be a safer driver by putting my phone
in a place not readily accessible to discourage any temptations to
look at a text or respond to a phone call. I can promote driving
safety by taking the phones of family and friends while they are
operating a vehicle, so that they can focus on driving and the
driving of those around them.


Safety when driving is important
because it can prevent needless deaths. The only way to reduce the
number of lives lost due to car accidents is by encouraging each
other to be safe and cautious. Driving carries the lives of everyone
around us; that is too big of a responsibility to ignore.