The Aid of Memory in Driving

The Aid of Memory in Driving

I remember sitting in the back seat with my friend’s father behind the car’s wheel. After steering on the Mass Pike for what seemed like hours, we finally took a right turn on our exit, traveling home. Suddenly, on the ramp, a car heading right for our bumper increasing its speed. I can still picture the blur of dark green nearly inches away from a major accident. Luckily, my friend’s father swerved to the right, avoiding what could have been the death of four individuals.

This event resonates with me each time I’m on the road. Conversely, the potential near-death experience is something I want engraved in my brain for the rest of my life. It’s a constant reminder of what could have happened and of what was avoided.

In 2019 alone there were over thirty-six-thousand highway catastrophes; the US traffic fatality rate accounts for about twelve deaths per one-hundred-thousand inhabitants, and about 4.4 million people are injured by cars somehow each year.

Statistical evidence emphasizes the great importance of driver education, especially in today’s society. When driving in high-pressure situations, it’s the small lessons and tips we learned in driver’s ed that come to mind in order to reassure us with a real sense of confidence, lowering the risk of accidental mistakes. Driver’s education provides a foundation with substantial information for teens, aiding them in their future travels. Driving is how society literally runs, and proper education is the backbone for its success.

As more teens ready themselves for the adventure of driving with driver’s ed, fatality rates decrease, yet accidents are still bound to happen. Reducing the number of deaths can be a possibility of increasing the legal driving age for students. As of now, most of the US abides by a legal driving age of sixteen, yet some states use fourteen as a legal driving age. Lowering the number of eighth-graders behind a wheel would drastically lower traffic death rates. In addition, mandatory driving tests every five years could be implemented for each driver to revise basic driving skills and ensure public safety. This can also serve as a benefit if any driving rules change, such as driver’s hand positionings.

Personally, my safety while driving consists of two major precautions: total focus and awareness. The memory of the potential car accident replays in my mind before I step in any car. When I’m behind the wheel, I rid my mind of any thoughts and shut the radio off to focus on what is happening as I control an engine-powered vehicle. I become a different person, matured by my skilled attention as I take into account the direction of the road, the cars behind me, my speed, the indicator, and more.

Driving is a skill — an important one, but also a dangerous one. It’s something that can allow people to go from point A to point B when used correctly, or it can lead to unforeseeable disasters. Thankfully, human-intuition and driver education benefit public safety.