It is Serious

Driving
a car is kind of like riding a bike. Every trip after the first one
is easier and easier, until it is so natural that we don’t even
think about what we are doing. With driving, however, this lack of
awareness can be fatal.

Driver
Education shows teenagers the procedures, rules, and dangers from the
very first time they sit in the drivers seat, in hopes that they will
remember what they’ve learned every time they fasten their seat
belt. I sometimes catch myself driving home without even realizing
that I took a left turn or stopped at a particular stop sign. For me,
driving around my home town has become natural after only two years.
We learned how to judge the flow of traffic, know exact directions to
our favorite places, and have memorized the speed limits on our most
used roads. These things were not learned in drivers ed,
however, they just come with time spent behind the wheel. On the
other hand, what we did acquire from our driving instructors, was
much more significant. Other than the basic mechanics and rules of
driving, we learned to keep the radio down to better focus on
driving, or to come home on time to avoid driving when tired, and
keeping the number of passengers to a minimum, even after the
restriction had been lifted. Drivers ed taught us well to
recognize potential hazards when driving, even if we didn’t want to
admit it in the beginning. When I first got my license, I felt
trapped by the rules of the road. I wanted to set off on adventures
and finally go where I wanted without any curfew, passenger, or
driving restrictions. I soon realized that every rule had a specific
role in keeping us safe. Again, this is something that didn’t sink
in until I had been driving for a while. As a state, we have already
done so much to lower accident rates like prohibiting cell phones,
only allowing bluetooth at age nineteen, and frequently posting speed
limits. In my opinion, what we young drivers can do from here, is
share our stories and experiences with those even younger than us. It
is hard to relate sometimes to what a teacher or parent has to say,
but if I were to tell a freshmen that driving can actually be scary
and that there are times you will be nervous to drive, they might
just take it seriously.

I
have one such story of my own that I can share. I was coming home
from work one night and merging onto a highway I have taken many
times, when a semi truck blocked the merging lane. Cars began
slamming on their breaks and in an instant, the car directly behind
me rear-ended me going about 40 miles per hour. I was traumatized,
shaking, trying to contact the police and my parents on my phone
through the many tears. Before this accident, I thought that if I was
driving safely, then I would ultimately get from one destination to
the other without a problem. Of course I remember from Drivers Ed
that the biggest danger on the road are the cars around you. There is
just no telling when someone might reach into their handbag and take
their eyes off of the road, or swerve on a patch of ice into your
car, or as I learned first hand, not having enough time to break. I
still get a little nervous now when merging onto a highway because
that is where my false sense of security was suddenly shattered
because of another drivers mistake.

Something
about how remembering that we set an example for younger drivers,
helps us be mindful of how we should be driving. We don’t want to
share the road with drivers less careful than ourselves. I think the
biggest factor when it comes to teenagers behind the wheel is their
mentality. Not only do you need to have confidence in your own
driving skill, but you need to be focused. It doesn’t matter how
skilled you are, or how many hours you have spent practicing, if your
mind is somewhere other than on the road, there’s no telling what
could happen.