The Humanity on the Road

Clayton Stout

11/28/2020

The Humanity on the Road

Education is more important than just books to read or notes to study, especially when it comes to a driver’s education. Though any licensed driver takes a similar driving course and similar driving tests, not every driver understands how to apply education to their driving. Drivers educated on how to think while driving as well as what to do are bound to be more apt and aware on their driving escapades. Lack of driver awareness causes thousands of deaths in the US alone every year. Unfortunately, these aren’t all due to the driver alone. Drunk driving, or driving under any influence causes a large percentage of vehicle deaths every year. Drivers must be taught how to be more aware not only of how themselves to drive safe, but also how to drive safe around those that might be a danger to them. For instance, many car crashes are caused by running a red light. These are often some of the most deadly, as there is usually little to no time to stop when these things happen. Drivers should be taught better how to be aware of things beyond what is just straight ahead of them. Drivers should be taught how to notice when a light is soon to change, how to be aware if someone may be distracted or under the influence, and what to do to limit damage if a distracted/influenced driver is potentially endangering them.

As a driver, driving has always been more than just what’s right in front of me on the road. As a beginner, I would always look down at the road or just look at the car right in front of me. Now I am fully aware of how other drivers will impact mine. Something that I wasn’t really taught that is quite obvious in driving school is that cars have other humans in them too. Humans make mistakes, do dangerous things, take risks, but at the end of the day aren’t all that different from I myself, the driver. Therefore I need to understand that whether it be road rage, distracted driving, or even driving under the influence, the people that are on the road are indeed people. So when I see someone driving like they aren’t all the way there and something is going on, I try to remain calm. If it’s a situation that seems out of control (which fortunately I have never been in) I would alert some sort of authority. But whether it’s a new driver driving like crazy through my school parking lot, or an old man driving 20 below, I try to understand the humanity, remain calm, and do my best to not become more of a danger to others than they are. I don’t whip around these drivers or cut them off, lay on my horn or flash my brights. A calm driver is a safe driver, and this is very important to my overall safety.