In The Drivers Seat

“In The Driver’s Seat”

By Mackenzie Cutler

Teenagers, and people around the world are getting into car accidents, which are caused by many things including: distraction, texting, alcohol, and even students who do not have their license. A driver education program is so important for anyone to take before getting their license, because they are taught all the skills they need to know for the road. It is not fun in my experience, but you get the benefits of learning how to drive safely and you are better off for it. Driver education not only prepares you for getting your permit or license, but it also teaches you what not to do so that you know how to avoid getting into a car crash. There are many steps that can be taken to prevent deaths and it is not worth risking your life or someone else’s life to do these things. Some of these precautions include: obeying all the speed limits and signs; always wearing your seatbelt; and never being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. One of the most important things is being attentive so you can be a responsible driver. By being attentive, you are paying attention to your surroundings and being alert to other people driving who may be doing something they shouldn’t. When people are not paying attention, they are either on their phones texting on a phone call, or maybe eating or drinking. When this happens, and the light turns green or maybe red they slam into another car, causing them to be rear-ended or even worse, getting hurt. If all drivers took these precautions, there would not be as many accidents or deaths across the world. This is one of the many reasons it is so important to be taught correctly how to drive so that even if you have some mistakes you can fix it. I always am attentive to my surroundings and that’s what makes me a cautious and safe driver; however, you can always improve your driving even if you have been driving a long time. I am still not a perfect driver myself and it is important to never be overconfident when driving. Driving is still a scary thing sometimes, because you don’t know what others can do when you least expect it for example, someone could pull out of a turn when it is not their turn to go. Something I have learned is to be more assertive, and turning when it is my turn to go, rather than waiting for someone else. This can cause confusion and lead to an accident. This is an improvement that I have made in my driving, which has helped make me a safer driver at intersections

I did have an experience with a car accident. It was a hit and run. I was stopped at a stopped sign and this car comes out of nowhere and hits the front side panel of my car. They then proceeded to drive off instead of stopping to see if I was okay. I only had a few bruises on my knee but if I had not been paying attention it might have been a lot worse and I could have gone to the hospital. I am not sure what the other person was doing at the time that distracted him. I have seen so many people when driving either text someone or being on a phone call, not paying any attention to what they are doing. They could easily cause an accident by slamming into someone or swerving off the road to endanger themselves. It’s not worth the risk. That is why it is so important to be taught all the safety measures for texting and driving. Not everyone drives the same and that is totally okay but the main thing is being safe. Being safe is better than being sorry in the end. The steps that I can continue to take to be a safe driver is being attentive, adhering to the speed limit, and following all traffic regulations. These are some things that all drivers should be able to do and that is why it is so important that you know all the skills to drive so you can be safe on the road.