Ignorance or Knowledge?

Ignorance or Knowledge?

Driving is an important part of life, however, it can be a very dangerous task and has led to quite a few deaths. The education of young drivers could be a way to counteract these deaths and to hopefully stop them from happening completely. The more drivers know about defensive driving and about the proper rules of the road, the less accidents will occur. Another way to reduce the number of deaths while driving would be to eliminate any possible distractions. There are a multitude of things a driver should focus on while driving and a phone or food is not one of them. Furthermore, to decrease the number of road collision related deaths, people should be educated about all of the rules of the road before they ever get behind the wheel.

Personally, I have only had one experience with being in an accident while I was behind the wheel and it was very minor. A group of my friends and I had decided to go to IHOP and I was one of the people driving. I had 4 other people in the car and I’ll have to admit, it was pretty distracting. As I was trying to get out of the parking lot, I backed into the other driver in the friend group. Luckily, it was not severe at all, there was not even a scratch, but it taught me a lot about driving while distracted. Thankfully, I was able to learn this without getting into a potentially dangerous accident, but there are others that are not so lucky. However, if we could educate drivers about these dangers, it might be able to diminish the amount of distractions and the accidents that follow.

For me, personally, I think there are quite a few steps I could take to be a much safer driver than I am right now. One particular thing I could do to stay safe on the road would be to decrease the amount of people that I drive with because having too many people in the car causes distractions. Another thing I should do to be safer on the road would be to never use my phone while I am driving, even if it is an emergency. If there is an emergency, I will pull over and then use my phone. There’s no logical reason for a person to use their phone while they are driving. In doing all of these things, I will reduce the amount of danger on the road to myself and others. It is important for me to follow the rules of the road, not only for my safety, but also for everyone else who is on the road as well.

Furthermore, I believe there is something that should be said about teaching people to drive in the snow, especially those who live in areas with a chillier climate. This year, I moved to a state that receives snow frequently, and to say that I was shocked about how different the road conditions were would be an understatement. Just to clarify, I spent about 18 years of my life in a place that almost never snows, and when it does, the entire city shuts down. So, when the weather started to cool and a storm brought our first real snow, I had no idea how to safely get to and from work. Thankfully, my father was more than willing to ride along and teach me the safest way to drive with a frozen road and a downpour of ice crystals. However, there are many people who do not have the luxury of having someone in their family that can teach them. Thi is why I believe that in order to get your license in a colder state, you should have practice driving in the snow with an instructor.

This is just one of the many ways people can learn to be safer on the roads which in turn will be safer for everyone else. During one of my classes this year, one of my classmates brought up the fact that “ignorance is bliss,” and kind of opened my eyes as to why it is so important to have essay opportunities like this one. Without a good reason to learn, a person will continue to remain uneducated about topics that should be important. I believe that educating others on safety measures that could be taken behind the wheel on the open road is significant and could ultimately lead to many saved lives if taught correctly. Whereas my classmate mentioned ignorance, I will mention education and how knowledge is power, especially in high risk situations like a car accident or driving on a patch of black ice. To say that a person’s safety behind the wheel is linked to their knowledge would be a severe understatement and I think we need to stop overlooking the basic teachings of the rules of the road.