Driver Education Initiative

Driver Education Initiative Scholarship

Will you perform stronger on a test that you have studied and prepared for, or on a test that you have neglected and are planning to wing? Most likely the test you have prepared for. The same goes for driving. Educating the younger generation on the rules of the road and what to expect can help exponentially with driving safety. Some may not understand that pedestrians always have the right of way. Because pedestrians are more vulnerable, drivers should be the ones looking out for them, not the other way around. Say four people pull up to a four-way stop at the same time. Two have undergone driver education and two have not. The two who are educated in the ways of the road will know that the first there is the first to go. However, the other two, having neglected proper driving education, will go when they see fit. One experienced driver and one inexperienced driver will move at the same time, thus resulting in a collision and possible death. This collision could have been avoided had everyone understood the regulations. Correctly knowing how to drive can assist in avoiding future deaths and collisions caused by minuscule knowledge of the road.

Steps are able to be taken to avoid these further deaths and complications. As stated above, driver education is a great place to begin. Educating drivers, especially of the younger generation, is a way to aid in slowing down the number of collisions over time. Raising the driving age could also have a positive effect on this issue. Waiting until teenagers are older, and their brain has a chance to develop further and to handle more information at once, could have an effect on the number of deaths driving causes. Making sure one is in the correct mental state to drive is important as well. Getting irritated easily may not be the greatest sign that someone is ready to hop behind the wheel and start driving. As people get more and more irritated, it prompts them to act in a way they generally would not. Tailgating others may become their first option when annoyed. Driving while enraged in one matter, tailgating is another. Tailgating is dangerous for both parties. If a collision were to occur, the one tailgating is closer to the impact point than the one being tailgated. However, there is still a chance that the front car’s tires will lose friction on the road and spin out of control, maybe even involving more cars in the crash. Make sure you are always in a good state of mind before you even think of stepping behind the wheel. When old enough to drink, some think it is unnecessary to get a ride home, when in fact, it is extremely necessary. A step you can take if you are of age is to always let others know where you are and what you are going to be doing. Getting a ride home instead of driving drunk saves countless lives. No one can predict the future, even if you think you can handle it all, there can always be complications. There are many other steps to take, but I am only going to talk about one more: The use of earbuds. Using your sense of hearing while driving is more needed than some realize. How will you hear the sirens? The horns? The people? Everything? Sounds are there to warn you of any imposing danger. They are there to show you what you are about to encounter and if you are blasting music into your ears and disorienting yourself, accidents are prone to happen. So, having earbuds in is not the best plan of action. There are many things to do when considering other’s safety on the roads. Steps like these can help create safer roads.

There have been instances where personally I have not felt safe in a car. My friends and I had just gotten ice cream and we were all driving back. The friend in the driver’s seat was looking at her phone and speeding at the same time. The others in the car were singing loudly, so loudly that you could not hear anything of importance happening outside. Suddenly, a cop car left its resting place and started following us a little. Only then did the driver put her phone down and follow the speed limit. We did not end up getting pulled over or causing a crash. However, there is no reason I should have felt uncomfortable in the car that day, especially by my own friend. Trust is a pure thing, and if broken it is a hard notion to fix. I have never driven with her since and I hope she puts more care in for the people who ride with her in the future. My dad also has his fair share of driving stories, as he owns a garbage company and has been driving trucks since he was my age. He talks about people who have been on their phone, not paying attention, and have collided with the side or back of the truck. Now, keep in mind, garbage trucks are a great deal larger than normal cars. They are also a lot heavier and tend to cause more damage then they will ever receive. When unlucky drivers collide with the truck, the truck driver will most likely not even feel them because of the truck’s sheer size. My dad has had instances where teenagers on their phones will hit the back of a truck and end up with injuries, while my dad is completely fine. Staying off your phone while driving is the safest option for both you and the person who you may end up hitting one day. Another story my dad has shared with me that has stuck in my mind until now was when he was involved in a roll over accident. Being the only one who was able to escape, he ran for help and called the police himself. This story sticks with me because it makes me remember every time I am on the road that I need to be careful regardless of where I am driving. One final story that has had an effect on me was my cousin’s. It was nothing serious, just a simple collision, and thankfully no one was seriously injured. However, injuries are not the only thing that can be delivered from a collision. There is also the mental side of things. After the crash, my cousin did not drive for a solid year. He was too paranoid to get behind the wheel, and the collision that caused all this was not even his fault. So, before you just jump behind the wheel and take off, consider the effects that unsafe driving can have on others, both physically and mentally.

There are steps that I can take personally to become a safer driver, and steps that I can show others so they may also become a safer and better driver. Putting the phone down is a great place to start. Instead of having the phone resting in my lap, or under my leg, a good place to set it is either in my bag, or off the side, facing away from me. Powering off my phone might be a good way to reduce the chances of me wanting to look at it. It prevents me from seeing any notifications that I may receive and keeps my eyes focused on the road. I could of course share these tips with others who are willing to listen and take in what I have to say. Knowing these things could raise their chances of safety on the road as well, ensuring their security, as well as others. Another step that I personally, and others all over the world, can take is to drive the speed limit. Many people in our day go at least five to ten miles per hour over the set speed limit, creating an unsafe environment. Speed limits are created for a reason and I believe people should follow these. Some people in this day and age do not believe in wearing their seatbelt, and my dad is one of them. I constantly remind him to put his seatbelt on everyday. Wearing seatbelts has saved many lives in the past and continues to do so. Overall, deaths due to driving can be avoided if a person is willing to accept change in their driving habits.