Present While Driving

Present While Driving

I have been driving since the age of 15. I first started out going with my father, and then I enrolled in driver’s education. Even though my father taught me a lot, he had little patience than the driving instructor, who didn’t know me but trusted me anyway. With the driving instructor, I learned the importance of being a good driver because I now had a stranger’s life at hand. At least, that is how I chose to approach each driving session. I feel that driving education is a valuable tool for the beginner because it allowed me to feel more comfortable without my parents’ judgment. I feel as though the worst thing for a new driver is to be stressed out. To further ensure that I would be a safe driver, my parents enrolled me in a defensive driving course for eight hours. This class had different scenarios set up that required quick thinking to succeed. Therefore, I can genuinely say that driver’s education enabled me to have the confidence that I needed as a new driver.

With the many distractions that exist now with cellphones, driver education would seem necessary to the beginner driver. More states need to adopt laws that ban hand-held phones while driving, not only for young drivers but everyone! When teens first get their license, teens should sign a contract stating that they will not use their phones or text while driving. It will be up to the parents to decide what the consequence should be for violating the contract. Stricter laws and agreements are a couple of ways that may reduce the number of unnecessary fatalities caused by distracted driving.

My mom has had two accidents where a distracted driver rear-ended her. Fortunately, we escaped harm, but it was still a scary experience. Ironically, these drivers weren’t young drivers, which tells me that young and old are guilty of distracted driving. As a safe driver, I intend to do my part and be present while driving since being in the present is just that – a gift!