In the Driver’s Seat

In the Driver’s Seat

I have not only been in my fair share of accidents, but I’ve seen the people around me either get lucky or not survive. This is an increasing problem on our communities’ hands. The irresponsible drivers who are impaired, distracted or thoughtless hold our loved one’s lives in their hands. You ask me what the importance of driver education is in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving. Driver education is its own importance. You cannot live in a world where safety is not of most importance and there will always need to be guides on how to achieve that. The importance is to not only keep our loved ones safe, but to also better those who take the risks of injuring themselves and others. There are many steps that can be made clear, but the most important is to define best judgement and the importance of morals clearly and distinctly. You could most definitely put everyone in the class to get their permit or license into a scenario that specifically relates to them. Something that always stuck with me is when my father told me to think about losing someone I love dearly to an impaired driver. He asked me how I would feel, and I broke down crying because I couldn’t imagine losing a loved one due to someone else’s recklessness. He then told me to imagine myself as the reckless driver and it stunned me. By connecting someone personally to a situation and reverting it back to them, you could be saving thousands of lives, including their own. As I said before, I have been in a couple of car accidents. The most memorable was when my dad, brother and I were on our way home from school/work and we got sandwiched between two vehicles. A man with his daughter in the back seat hit us because he was texting and driving. I was rushed to the hospital after they were worried about the pain in my neck. Luckily, my brother and dad were okay, and I only got whiplash. But that wasn’t the same scenario for a group of my brother’s friends. The only person wearing a seatbelt out of the four was the driver and the other three were not. Sadly, only the driver survived and the other three passed away. My brother was supposed to ride with them. Of course, that was the driver’s fault because of his negligence of checking for their seatbelts to be on. However, not that boy has to live with their deaths, and I know that it is exceedingly difficult. We can all take the following steps to make us better, safer drivers. Don’t, not matter how tempting, text and drive. Always check your surroundings and make sure everyone is following the law while you’re operating the vehicle and even not. Don’t make rash decisions, be calm and level headed. Most importantly, do what you expect out of other drivers.