What you could do different

Globally, there are approximately 3,700 deaths per day due to a fatal crash. Which is indicating that more people need to understand the importance of driver education. The importance is to provide knowledge before you get in a car and drive because it’s not that simple. My mom always told me, “Drive for others.” This is to be on guard for the unexpected. The goal of driver education is to make drivers aware of their unsafe driving habits, and to stop and change those habits. The difference between a safe journey and a deadly crash is how a driver behaves and reacts behind the wheel. Driving safely can save many lives and your own life, it can help avoid hefty fines and/or imprisonment, and keep insurance premiums low.

It is especially important for teens to go through driver education because studies show teens have a greater risk of getting into a car crash, teens also don’t understand the risks of driving like adults do, so this is why it is important to get driver education. Studies also show that when we are together in a car teenagers are 2 ½ times more likely to engage in risky behaviors compared to driving alone. The greater the number of teens in a car the greater the chance of a fatal accident is to occur. According to NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) texting while driving is 6 times more dangerous under the influence of alcohol-this I did not know. Texting drivers are also 23 times more likely to be involved in a car crash than non-texting drivers.

There are many ways we as people can work together to lessen car crashes such as, avoiding distractions-over 1000 people are injured and 9 people are killed due to being distracted while driving. Being distracted by your hands isn’t the other way you can be distracted, you can be distracted with your eyes (visual), and distracted by your thought processes (cognitive), don’t drive under the influence-if you plan on drinking call a Uber, Lyft, or call a family member or friend to come an pick you up instead of driving while intoxicated, prepare for any actions others might do-never assume what a car might do. Think about it like this; you can control how you drive, but you can’t control how others drive, and don’t speed. These are many ways we can reduce the number of deaths while driving.

I have had experience of being in a car crash, but it was in a school bus and it was an intersection crash, the person in the car was medically ill and passed out and ended up T-boning the bus. Everyone was okay, thankfully, but this is why it is important, because being ill can affect your driving and can harm others. I have also seen family members and friends drive irresponsibly, most think it’s funny or think they can get away with it, but I try to tell them one day that might not be the case and how they can lose their life in a heartbeat. I know someone personally who got pulled over and got a DWI, she since then learned that it is very serious, and she doesn’t drink and drive anymore and ensures that she gets home responsibly if she’s out. I ensure myself to drive responsibly and to not do the same things they do. I see plenty of examples of other people driving with their phone in their hand, looking down at their phone and texting, or people swerving because they weren’t paying attention to the road. I really think it is important for everyone to realize and know that safe driving is important, driving without distractions is important. Many people die daily because of other peoples’ decisions.

A huge goal of mine that I will take to be a better driver and a safe driver is turn my phone on DND so I don’t hear the notifications because I know as a highschool teenager I am always tempted to check my phone constantly when I hear a notification come through. Another thing I’m going to do to be a safe driver is if I’m with friends I will ensure we’re doing the right things to keep us from harming our lives and others. I may not be perfect on the road, but I will always ensure I’m doing the right things to be a safe driver not only for myself, but for others as well!