Reinforcement and Rehabilitation

2020 Drivers Education Essay Contest

Tyler Sum

Reinforcement and Rehabilitation

About to take the driver’s seat? Having proper driver education will further clarify the rules of the road. An irresponsible and uneducated driver, without knowing the laws and regulations, can put other drivers and pedestrians at risk of serious injury or death. Most rules are common sense, but others are not as intuitive, and, therefore, driver education reinforces and clarifies those regulations. By following safety protocols along with defensive driving, accidents and deaths related to driving can be reduced. However, simply understanding those laws will not completely eliminate driving accidents, as the law is only intended to make driving safer; it does not make it completely secure.

In terms of education, drivers should be mandated to retake a course for the legal aspects of driving every ten years. If this were to be implemented, I believe that people would drive safer and observe the rules and regulations more closely. As I have experienced, when knowledge is not tested and repeated over again, that knowledge is lost after a short while. Because of this, I believe that retaking driving courses is extremely important in order to strengthen and preserve the laws in people’s memory.

In addition to points on a license and fines, another way to reduce deaths related to driving would be to have stronger enforcement of the regulations. For example, across from my window, there is a T-intersection with a stop sign for one of the streets. No one ever fully stops at the stop sign, with most people rolling by it or completely speeding past it. There are bushes that reduce visibility at the T-intersection, making this intersection even more dangerous and prone to accidents. The only reason there have not been many accidents is because the street is a tertiary road that connects two towns. By enforcing the rules – like coming to a full stop at a stop sign and having a mandate for homeowners at corner properties to clear their shrubs – the number of accidents can be reduced. Another approach that could be implemented to better enforce the law would be to install cameras at dangerous intersections to capture the moving violation. The footage will prevent people from getting the violation dismissed.

A large cause of driving-related deaths is the result of driving under the influence. Through the years, many laws have been created and implemented to reduce the number of people injured during DUI-related accidents. If we are able to stress and focus on rehabilitation instead of punishment for alcoholism and drugs, I believe that we could reduce the number of accidents and help people understand and acknowledge the dangers involved.

Getting into a car accident is one of my greatest fears because I fear for my parents’, my sister’s, and my own life. While I have luckily never been involved in an accident, I have seen my classmates drive recklessly and irresponsibly. I have witnessed speeding in a school zone during school hours, which is beyond dangerous – more so for pedestrians and children than the drivers themselves. In order to be a better driver, I can keep myself educated on the laws surrounding driving, and I can educate my friends and family so that they can also improve. When driving, it is always better to be a defensive driver instead of an aggressive one, which will help to prevent meaningless and tragic deaths.