arrogant drivers

Some may view driving as a mundane, habitual activity but what many people don’t seem to grasp is how dangerous driving can be. This is where Driver’s Education comes into play. Driver’s Education is essential in integrating the dangers of the road into young students’ minds. It allows students to become informed about the risks of driving and teaches them how to understand better what safe driving entails. Several additional steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving besides Driver’s Education. For example, as a passenger in a car, it is your duty to not distract the driver by blasting music, pointing out things on the road that are irrelevant, and starting arguments. A good passenger is a good driver’s sidekick. A good passenger will help the driver navigate the road safely, refrain them from texting while driving, and most importantly, will be unwilling to tolerate things such as drunk driving or excessive speeding.

I’ve had many personal experiences where I have been in car accidents or have witnessed very irresponsible driving both by my teenage friends and adults. A common denominator I see in all these situations is the arrogance exuded by the driver. Both teenagers and adults alike tend to believe that accidents “just won’t happen to them” until they do. They fail to realize that a second of distraction can lead to fatal consequences. One specific example of a time where distracted driving had almost catastrophic consequences happened to me just a few months ago. My friends and I had been driving around for a few hours, and then we decided it was time to go home. My friend, who was the driver in this situation, has always been a somewhat distracted driver, so my friends and I try to limit the number of times we are in a vehicle with her. As we pulled up to a four-way intersection, I urged her to slow down her speed, which was becoming increasingly concerning the closer we got to the stoplight. Alongside my other friends, I politely asked her to slow down, for we did not want to end up crashing. She refused our advice and responded with the foolish phrase, “no, I got it.” She, in fact did not “have it”. At 50 miles an hour, she reaches the stoplight and makes the conscious mistake to not yield at a yellow light. As we were about to drive through the stoplight I quickly made her aware that the light had turned red but she refused to stop. As she arrogantly dismissed my remarks, she almost got us all killed. By going through the red light, we were faced with a car coming straight at us, specifically me, in the passenger seat. We did not crash for what I believe is truly a miracle. After that incident, we all were traumatized and collectively decided that we would no longer drive around with somebody who is not only a danger to us and other drivers but also to herself.

As I begin driving myself now, I have been aware of the dangers of driving not only through Driver’s Education but by firsthand experiences. After experiencing such horrible driving events, I vowed never to let myself be the idiot who puts others at risk due to my own arrogance. I understand what reckless driving can take from you and hope that everyone can learn how dangerous an uninformed, careless driver can be.