Driver Education Initiative Essay

Nyla Johnson

28 October 2020

Driver Education Initiative Essay

Tens of thousands of people die each year as a result of driving. Many people are not aware of how dangerous driving can be and the importance of paying attention while on the road. Younger drivers today tend to become too confident in their driving abilities and begin to practice what is called distracted driving. These bad driving habits include texting/talking while driving, speeding, or anything that may take their attention away from the wheel.

Texting and talking while driving had become an increasing problem throughout drivers today. With cell phones becoming more and more popular each day, many are using their devices while their attention should be supposed to be on the road. Texting and talking while driving leads to losing focus on the road, causing for people to miss important road signs, or driving through red lights. A couple months back, my mother had gotten into a car accident where she hit someone from the back, not only wrecking her car but totaling theirs as well. She’d claimed she thought the light was green, but due to her looking at the cell phone instead of the road, she’d failed to stop at the red light. Situations like this are what cause unnecessary tragedies every day that could simply be avoided if people were more cautious behind the wheel.

“In 2015, there were 3,477 people killed and an estimated additional 391,000 injured in crashes involving distracted drivers” (Covington, 2020). People are always in a rush to get to their destination, but if more people were educated about driving safely, these numbers could reduce significantly. “Speeding was a factor of 26% of all traffic fatalities in 2018, killing 9,378, or an average of over 25 people per day” (Speeding, 2019). Often, speeding is due to drivers not paying attention to the given speed limit. There have been many instances I’ve been a passenger to friends/family and have noticed them driving a little too fast for the area we were in. Almost every time this would happen, they would catch themselves almost getting into an accident. “Speeding can occur due to many different scenarios, whether it be they’re distracted by the music from the radio, conversation with passengers, or feeling forced to keep up with traffic.” (Roswold, 2014).

Steps that I can take to become a safer driver is educating myself about the many ways my driving could be hindered, and how I can avoid these situations. I will take steps like making sure I am not coming in contact with my phone while behind the wheel. Another step is to avoid getting too engaged with the music playing on the radio or conversation with passengers. Other steps I will take to make sure that my driving will not be hindered are always making sure I am staying at the given speed limit and taking my time to get to where I need to be. Responding to a text or speeding to get to a destination quicker is not worth anyone’s life.

Works Cited

1. Covington, Taylor. “Distracted Driving Statistics, Research, and Facts.” The Zebra, 18 Aug. 2018, www.thezebra.com/research/distracted-driving-statistics/#:~:text=Distracted%20driving%20was%20the%20reported,the%20United%20States%20in%202017. Accessed 28 Oct. 2020.

2. Speeding. “Dangers of Speeding.” NHTSA, May. 2019, www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding. Accessed 28 Oct. 2020.

3. Roswold, James. “Slowing Down Saves Lives, But Many of Us Refuse to Do it.” Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys, www.kansascityaccidentinjuryattorneys.com/blog/understanding-the-motivations-behind-speeding.cfm#:~:text=Inattention.,on%20being%20distracted%20by%20passengers. Accessed 28 Oct. 2020.