Safe Driving Essay

Shannon Zeigler

7 November 2020

Safe Driving Essay

I was put into a driver education class this year. I went into it thinking it would be useless, since I already had my driver’s license and a car. In the past few months, though, I have learned much more than I thought I would. This class teaches the students everything from the most basic level, like understanding stoplights, to the more advanced, like safety when pumping gas. I have learned ways to be safe in heavy traffic, rain, snow, sunny weather, and the nighttime. I’ve learned safe-driving tips, such as to not check my cell phone or play music too loud. All of these things result in thousands of deaths per year, and by learning about them, I believe we can prevent them. I believe driver education should be mandatory in all schools. I also think that better accessibility to safer cars would reduce the number of driving related deaths. These cars come with features to help better improve your driving and come with automatic systems to decrease your risk of crashing. Unfortunately, these cars are very expensive, so most people do not have the ability to purchase these safer cars. I have been involved in a car accident. I was in the car with a drunk driver; my sister and I were both under the age of ten. The driver ran stop signs, went off the road, and hit signs, until they eventually hit a telephone pole and the car started to roll. The car landed upside down, and the driver was stuck in their seat. I got myself and my sister out of the car safely and got help from people in nearby houses. Another incidence of this was when a driver I was close to got high before driving. They blacked out while driving and ran off-road for a long distance, causing property damage in the meantime. I was not in the car, but this accident has affected me greatly. I believe education is the best way to help drivers learn how to do better. It is important to know what different road signs mean or what the lights on a dashboard indicate. It is important to know the warning signs of an intoxicated driver and know how to respond in that situation. I think there also needs to be some sort of fear-tactic involved. I watched a video made by a car insurance company about texting and driving. I will admit, I would be on my phone while driving. After seeing videos like that, though, I have shaken that habit, as I hope a majority of the people watching do too. I think choosing passengers carefully is a good way to be safer. Eating and drinking before driving is smart, as well as getting a good night’s sleep or taking a nap before driving. There are so many ways to reduce the risk of accidents and deaths if drivers would educate themselves and be willing to change their irresponsible habits.