Valuing Safety and Driver’s Education

Driver’s education is extremely crucial for everyone. Even if someone doesn’t plan on driving that much in the future, you never know when you may need to drive in emergency cases. The material taught in driver’s education is very important in reducing the amount of car accident related fatalities. New and young drivers are taught driving rules and laws to help the safe flow and organization of traffic. Being taught this material can greatly decrease the amount of car accidents. The real importance of driver’s education is driving training. This gives young drivers hands-on experience of not only how to safely operate a vehicle, but also how to learn traffic patterns. Having an understanding of how the roads work prepares new drivers for real world driving situations in the future.

While car accident related deaths are continuing to slowly decrease every year, there is still an alarming number of people who die in crashes. In the year 2019 alone, more than 4,000 teens died in car accidents. The most important steps to reduce the amount of car accident fatalities would be to stop texting and driving, and never drive under the influence. Texting and driving is extremely dangerous as it takes your attention off of the road, making you vulnerable to your surroundings. Being under the influence of any substance can alter depth perception and vision, making you a dangerous driver. My advice to anyone thinking about making that short drive home after a night at the bar, or texting back in the group chat would be to think about the people you could hurt rather than how you could hurt yourself. Your irresponsible actions of driving drunk or texting back a friend could not only take your life, but someone else’s as well.

Friday the 13th of March, 2020, I was involved in a car accident at a young age. I was driving home from school when a domino effect of people slamming on their brakes resulted in me hitting the vehicle in front of me. My small Honda Civic hit a pickup truck with a thirteen inch trailer hitch that completely punctured my radiator and bent the frame, resulting in a totaled car. Thankfully, everyone was okay and all matters were settled. With the accident being my fault I began to reevaluate my driving patterns. I came to realize that I developed a habit of following too closely and had I used the two car distance rule, I could have avoided the accident altogether. At the end of the day, I am very fortunate to not be in one of the many fatal teen wrecks that occur every year.

A major step that I and many others can take to be a safer driver would be to make sure you are aware of all your surroundings. Pay attention to cars behind, beside, and in front of you and make sure you follow the two car distance rule. On the interstate, make sure you always check your side mirrors to make sure the lane is clear before merging. These methods can help avoid any possible collisions with the surrounding cars, as well as keep you on alert of any sudden movements of the other vehicles. Having a clear idea of the actions of vehicles around you can result in having a faster response time, which could further reduce the risk of an accident. So, if you are a teenager that is about to go through driver’s education, take advantage of it and learn as much as you can. The more you know, the safer you are.