Courteous Driving

Here in New Jersey, we all have a Driver’s Education class before we are able to get any sort of license. Driver’s Education helps to clarify the manual given to us, and can also do things that a book cannot. Things that a book cannot do: 1) Give you mini-tips such as: stop before you inch up to see the rest of the road blocked by the trees. 2)Give you visuals. Sure, there are pictures in the book, but they’re hard to understand sometimes, so having a teacher show you a video of what you’re supposed to do flickers a lightbulb in your brain. 3)Give you quick slogans to remember like “downhill, towards, and up, up, and away!” If you didn’t understand what I was talking about there, I was talking about what way the wheels are supposed to be turned when you’re parked on a hill. Also, 8.1% less people got into accidents if they took driver’s ed, as opposed to those who didn’t.

To reduce the number of deaths related to driving, every time someone renews their license, they should have to have a four-question quiz on really easy stuff to remember.

Here’s my example for reference, since I’ve almost gotten into accidents because these rules weren’t followed:

1) What do when you are switching lanes?

2) When the light turns green, do you look both ways before crossing the street, or should you just go?

3)Are you allowed to pass someone to the left on a double line if they’re driving too slowly?

4)How far apart should cars be at a traffic stop?

If they pass, they get their license renewed. If not, they have to take a driver’s safety class to get their license back. I use easy questions that don’t have statistics in them, because no one is really that good at memorizing statistics, only basic directions.

I have been in a small rear-end car accident before. The person behind us driving way too close to us, and then when my dad had to stop for the light, he hit our car. It felt like I was on the school bus for a half a minute, but I thank-goodness didn’t feel that much impact.

And yes, I have seen my relatives doing things that they probably shouldn’t have when they were driving. Like trying to reach for something in the backseat. Every time I ask for something, I end up regretting it if it’s in the back seat. But my relatives aren’t the only ones. When I first drove, I tried to adjust my seat at a stop. The brake started to loosen. Lesson learned.

To become a better and safer driver, I will take care of what I need to do before I hit the road, and encourage others to do the same. I will also encourage others to have common sense, be courteous of others, and follow the rules when they’re on the road.