Slow Down, Save Lives

Slow Down, Save Lives

Imagine you are driving down a busy interstate, and you can barely see in front of you because it is blizzarding tremendously. The roads are covered in slick ice. Suddenly, someone speeds past you kicking up tons of snow on your windshield. You let off the gas scared they will spin out right in front of you. You think to yourself, obviously, they need a refresher on how to drive, especially in snowy conditions. If you knew that driver never took a drivers’ education course because they felt they knew enough about driving, you would not want them driving next to you. They have not only put their life in danger, but they have also put yours, your passengers, as well as other driver’s lives in danger. Driving down any road, busy or not, many people forget that every person in every vehicle around you puts trust in your driving and you put trust in theirs.

The question is “if this driver had taken a driver’s education course would they have been a more cautious driver?” The answer is maybe. If they would have taken a course, they probably would have been more aware of their surroundings and how to drive in rough weather.

By taking a driver’s education course, you can save lives without even realizing it. After taking a driver’s education course, people become more aware of their surroundings and of what to look for in an emergency. In my experience, after at least the first week of taking driver’s ed, I noticed many more things about driving than I had in my entire life. It allowed me to pay more attention to different signs and lights even while I was riding in the passenger seat. When I started driving, I watched cars speed up to stop signs. I was ready to slam on my brakes if need be. I know what to look for because of what I learned in my driver’s ed class.

Distracted drivers are a cause of many accidents. Fiddling with the radio, air conditioning, or heater has caused numerous accidents. The important thing to remember is that pulling over on the side of the road is much safer than swerving into another car or driving into a deep ditch.

As a Minnesotan, every year, especially in the wintertime, I notice far too many deaths on the news because someone was driving too fast on icy roads. I’ve watched as cars have spun around in front of me. I have watched cars speed past me on icy roads to find them in the ditch a few minutes later. New drivers, like myself, don’t realize that slowing down can save our lives as well as others. My parents often tell me to slow down, while other people are speeding past me. Just because other people are driving fast does not mean that you should in any conditions.

It doesn’t matter that there’s snow on the ground or the road is icy. No matter the conditions there are speed limits for a reason and there are driver’s ed courses for a reason. Don’t be the reason someone can’t go home for the holidays. Don’t be the reason there is an empty seat at the dinner table. Slow down to save a life.