Driver’s Education and Being Safe On The Road

Alyson Baugh

High School Senior

Essay Word Count: 500

Driver’s Education and Being Safe On The Road

1.35 million. That is the approximate number of people who die in car accidents around the world each year, according to PolicyAdvice.net. Among the leading causes of such accidents are the driver being tired, intoxicated, or distracted. Driver’s Education teaches students the dangers of being distracted or drunk while driving and gives them safer alternatives, such as taking an Uber when intoxicated or powering off your phone so you won’t be tempted to look at it when your focus should be on the road. Driver’s Education revolves around the topic of defensive driving, which are skills a driver can put to use to be safe on the road, and takes steps to teach students these crucial skills in order to help them become good drivers. Defensive driving would include thinking quickly and taking the best possible course of action, such as swerving into a corn field instead of a tree to avoid an oncoming vehicle. Defensive driving skills can save your life or the life of someone else, so every driver should know how to drive defensively. Driver’s Education includes a wide curriculum that teaches people how to drive safely, and Driver’s Education provides useful information to drivers, such as being able to recognize road signs. The road signs are there to aid and even warn drivers to help prepare them for what lies ahead on the road. Every driver can benefit from a Driver’s Education course in order to learn defensive driving skills, what to do in the case of driving-related emergencies, and the dangers of driving while impaired or distracted. Having this knowledge can and will be beneficial when driving and can even save lives.

Everyone can take steps to protect themselves and others on the road. First of all, never drink and drive. Even if no one gets hurt, and there’s always a chance someone will get hurt or even killed in a drunk driving related incident, it can ruin the driver’s future. Having a DUI (Driving Under The Influence) on your record can deprive you of job opportunities, result in a rejection from college, or even end up with jail time if someone was hurt or if there was a great deal of property damage due to the accident. Do not drive while drunk. There are other options that will be safer for you and others, such as taking an Uber or having a sober friend drive you home. Another tip for being safe while driving is to never text and drive. Put your phone away, turn it off, place it in the backseat, whatever you have to do to keep yourself from looking at your cellphone. Even just a moment of focusing on that phone instead of on the road can steal a million moments from you, can rob you of your very life. It can wait. Don’t let that text message be the cause of your death.