Committed to Change

Freedom is the word that jolts across every teenager’s mind when they first begin to drive. Driving provides us with one of the first real life skills and that we pick up in our young adult lives. This privilege gives us our first taste of adulthood and while that can be scary it is also exciting. Teenagers often brush over the scary and horrific consequences that come with driving and only daydream about the excitement it will bring. Whether that’s blasting your favorite song and singing along, driving with your friends, or going wherever our hearts desire. Even with the joys driving can bring, it is not a toy or right and that is something I often think is often missed by new drivers. This idea is often taken into the rest of these new drivers lives. Teenagers are not the only people to blame for the increase of driving deaths and accidents, adults are just as guilty. However, the core values and education foundation of driving start when our brains are not fully developed as teenagers and at that stage in our lives, we don’t realize the consequences of this privilege. We think nothing bad will happen to us till it inevitably does. The foundation of driver’s education needs to be improved at the beginning of everyone’s driving careers. If the education of driving and safety is improved it will reduce the number of driving related deaths and accidents, because people will have it engraved in their minds from the beginning that driving is not like Mario-Kart, it is a serious, life changing privilege that has the power to change your whole world.

In my opinion, Driver’s Education is one of the most important classes a person takes in their lives. This class provides the basic knowledge and foundation for a young driver. It can shape a new driver’s mind and show them that driving is serious, and it can help prevent these new drivers from getting hurt or causing harm to another individual. Driver’s Education classes can save lives if they are executed properly. Driver’s Education classes are extremely important in reducing the number of auto related deaths. This is the case because these classes can provide students with the knowledge on how to be safe on the road and what not to do. These classes can show new drivers how when they drive there one and only priority and focus should be the road. They need to know that there should be no distractions. Phones should be put away, no messing with the radio, while avoiding all other distractions. Driver’s Education classes can show these new students that all possible distractions should be taken care of before you put the car in drive or reverse. Those classes can emphasize that distractions are one of the leading causes of driving accidents and deaths. The classes can provide students with ways to handle distractions, such as taking care of them before driving. Set a playlist before driving or have someone in the car with you that can help with navigation or answer your texts or calls. These ideas can be applied when the students drive with the instructor as well, so they can gain a kind of muscle memory of getting rid of distractions before driving. Driver’s Education classes are so important because of the information and real-life driving experience they give the students. The instructors can show and emphasize to these kids that driving has consequences and is not something that should be taken lightly. The instructors can show videos of driving consequences like drunk driving, texting while driving, and show how it changes people’s lives. These videos help emphasize the consequences of driving and can help limit reckless driving and help reduce deaths, because it shows the students how to be more cautious. The overall importance of Driver’s Education classes is to give new driver’s the knowledge and skills to keep them safe while driving.

Taking a Driver’s Education is one step in helping reduce the number of auto related deaths, however, there are many more that can be taken. I personally think that driver’s education classes should have a renewal system, like when you renew your license. I think having drivers retake a Driver’s Education class would be extremely beneficial, because having to take this class as you’re older and fully developed could help once again emphasize and engrave the consequences of driving in your mind. Having to take this class multiple times would help enforce safe driving habits and could help people brush up on their safe driving skills. Driver’s Education and Safety classes could also be a mandatory class all students have to take to graduate high school. At my high school we are required to take lots of classes to graduate, however driver’s education is not one of them. I think this is a huge mistake and should be something that needs to change across the nation. These classes could be different from other Driver’s Education classes. For example, they could spend more time reading, watching videos, and listening to speakers about the potential consequences of driving. Another example is that these classes could make it a requirement to read the book A Deadly Wandering, by Matt Richtel. I read this book in my junior year of high school for my AP English summer assignment. This book is incredibly well done and can shape and show young drivers how unsafe driving habits can lead to horrific consequences. This book tells the true story of a young driver named Reggie Straw and the life changing decision driving texting while that rattled and changed his whole life. It details the guilt and consequences that come after causing the death of others behind the wheel. This story can rattle and display to young drivers that unsafe driving habits can ruin your life. In my opinion I think this book or others similar should be a required read for new drivers to help show and emphasize the consequence. Being able to see how one decision ruined and drastically changed this man’s life as well as his family and the victims’ families can show to new drivers that one bad decision behind the wheel can mean life and death and can ruin many people’s lives. I feel like after reading a real person’s story it will make the consequences more real to the drivers and that would make it more to heart. Another step that can be taken is by parents. Parents have the responsibility for setting a good example for their children behind the wheel from the start of their lives. Children learn from their parents and observe their behaviors. If parents display bad and unsafe driving habits, that makes it much more likely that the children will follow in their footsteps. So, parents have the responsibility to not only set a good example for their children behind the wheel, but also educate their children before and while they drive. In my family we all have a driving app that ties in with our insurance that tracks our driving habits, the app is called Signal. Apps like Signal have the potential to help reduce driving deaths because they can show parents data of their own driving habits and their children. With this factual data they can re-evaluate driving behaviors and correct them in themselves and their children. The data my family receives from Signal is very beneficial and has helped all of us be safer drivers. Thankfully neither any of my family, friends, or I have been in a car accident. However, I have some family members practice unsafe driving habits, such as looking at their phones. They don’t do these unsafe things often, but just one time can be deadly, so I hope they reevaluate their driving behaviors to keep themselves and others safe. I am no exception to this. There is always room for improvement. I am proud to say I never use my phone while driving (unless for navigation, but it is on a phone stand), but I do need to improve stop changing the radio station as much. Changing the radio station is something I know I need to stop doing and I am committed to trying to stop, so I can be the safest driver I can be. These are some steps that can be taken to help reduce the number of driving related deaths.

In conclusion, driving is a powerful and deadly skill that one must learn to function in our society today. There are many steps that can be taken to help combat this problem. Number one being Driver’s Education. This class had the ability to save lives and that is a reason why it is arguably the most important class an individual ever takes in their lives. Improving safe driving habits is something every individual can do to help make the roads safer for not only themselves but the ones they love. Driving recklessly and unsafe is one of the most selfish things a person can do because it puts so many people’s lives in jeopardy. No person is a perfect driver, we all get distracted or make the wrong decision, because we’re human, but not trying to correct these mistakes is ignorant and selfish and is the reason for so many autos-related deaths. However, if our society all commits to practicing and taking the steps to improve safe driving the roads would be much safer and inevitably the number of auto related deaths would decrease. Next time you get in your car, think about the consequences of your actions, and do the selfless thing of committing to making the roads safer for yourself, your loved ones, and someone you’ve never met.