One Second Too Long

Driver’s education is essential in keeping all of us behind the wheel, as well as the passengers in our cars and pedestrians on sidewalks, safe. Annually, deaths related to traffic accidents account for more deaths than American soldiers in certain wars. Parents fret about their children enlisting in the forces, yet feel a fraction of this worry when it comes to handing them the keys to run an errand. It is important that parents, as well as the instructors of driver’s education, detail the risks and statistics to young, newer drivers to reduce the starling number of deaths.

One step that could be taken to drastically reduce the number of fatalities related to driving is to make driver’s education courses a requirement and increase their availability to unprivileged young adults. I know many individuals who refrain from receiving instruction in drivers ed because they can not afford the six-hundred or so dollars these classes cost. A possible way to make these courses more accessible to all students would be to increase federal support for traffic safety and require that high schools offer a course in Driver’s Education. Additionally, if a school cannot offer the course, a nearby school could partner with them and allow the students to take the course offered at their campus. If all young drivers received driver’s education instruction, the driving populous would be smarter behind the wheel. As a result, there would be fewer accidents and the number of casualties on the road would decrease.

While I thankfully have not been involved in a car accident, my senior year of high school a younger classmate tragically lost her life to irresponsible driving. Though our school had been granted a snow day due to unsafe conditions on the road, this classmate got behind the wheel of her car anyway. She lost control of the vehicle and did not even see the tree she crashed into coming. The news spread across social media rapidly, and our school collectively mourned for weeks. Through the pain, we learned that we were not invincible, especially not on the roads.

The steps I and my peers can take to be safer on the roads are endless. I think the most important, however, is being aware of my surroundings at all times while I am driving. Additionally, I must understand that I can never be too careful. My classmate’s untimely and heart-wrenching death confirmed that I must drive with increased caution in the winter and, when in doubt, I should stay home. Furthermore, I can hold my peers and family accountable by seeing that they adhere to these same precautions. It is my responsibility to call out their dangerous behaviors on the road. These include texting or changing music on their phone while behind the wheel. Though they might not be looking down for long, these one-second glances are far too often one second too long.