2021 Drivers Ed Essay Contest

Isaac Ho

2/15/2021

2021 Drivers Ed Essay Contest

I’m an international student coming from Hong Kong, driving is always considered a necessary skill but not indispensable in my home country. Since Hong Kong’s land scale is way too small but over-crowded with a population of seven million, driving is not an ‘everyday’ thing for us. Now studying in the United States, especially living in a city like Lawrence, Kansas, I realized that driving is really a necessary skill to have. Taking perspective on the driving test in Hong Kong compared with that in the States, there are some huge differences which could be factors causing why there are large amount of people died due to driving in the US. Firstly, it is the age difference where eighteen is age eligibility in Hong Kong, students can only be able to take driving courses until they are eighteen. This is a four years difference between that of Hong Kong and the US, where eighteen years-old are way more mature and ready in terms of physical and mental aspects. Next is the content of the driving courses, where the overall driving test in Hong Kong is extremely difficult where students must go through thirty to forty chapters of basic driving knowledge and take at least twenty-five practice sessions excluding the hard passing on the writing test. The overall driving course could cost up to $2000 USD in Hong Kong, meaning that people need to invest a lot if they really consider driving.

Taking those factors and applying to the United States, the government and driving school has the responsibility to educate all drivers in detail permanently regardless of their age and experience because we are risking our and others’ lives every time we drive. It is just lamentable and pathetic to see the numbers of casualty and the number of families be impacted by just driving. We as students and even educators have the responsibility to take this issue seriously and keep it as a reminder for the rest of our life, in order to prevent more victims fall into this life-risking mistake. According to the Transport Department of Hong Kong, the total casualties in 2019 is 20,218. Even with a rigorous training system, there are still chances to cause accidents and deaths due to driving in a country like Hong Kong, therefore there should be no excuses to let new drivers and even experienced drivers to overlook the seriousness of driving risks.

After seeing the differences of driving education between Hong Kong and the United States, we can analyze how simple and crude is the content of driving test in the US and see what steps or solutions should be implement in order to fix the whole issue. In terms of the age eligibility, it seems fairly ridiculous for how early a kid can drive a vehicle, even though it is understandable to be able to drive in a large country, fourteen and fifteen are never seem as a reasonable age for driving. This has to do with the physical aspect and overall maturity of a teenager. In terms of the content of the whole course, the simpleness of it just cause too many drivers especially beginners drive without taking it seriously as it is just too easy to pass. The course content should be at least doubled with details, students must completely pass and understand majority of driving knowledge before they even get into a vehicle. Next is the advertisement and commercial factors, since social media has taken over television and radio, there are less chances users can watch advertisement about driving issue on those platforms anymore. Moreover, the effectiveness of these educational commercials has been neglected nowadays and the government should have taken further actions on this to improve the education system and culture. Speaking of education system and culture, alcohol and drugs are probably two of the biggest factors to cause such large amount of casualty related to driving. Regardless of the risk both alcohol and drugs can cause while driving, the harmful effects they can bring to our health are just innumerable. This issue continues to loop as the main root has never been cut, that means the issue of people taking drugs and alcohol must be solved, otherwise more and more drivers will be fatalities until it is too late. Furthermore, it is the problems made from our impatience, reckless mindset and even little distractions caused by anything. Although this is the most difficult factor to be cured as it is related to personality, there are still ways to improve the overall awareness and caution of drivers. Taking driving seriously and safe are the priorities but reckless drivers must be controlled and supervised all the time. Relax but stay aware is the mindset that every driver should carry, do not rush or challenge ourselves to risk lives. As a result, these steps should be taken in order to reduce the number of deaths related to driving.

Personally, I do not have experience of driving accident but there is one about my friend that had impacted me for the rest of my life. It was the time where my friend was rushing to see his mother who was sent to the hospital for emergency. He was driving in his car alone but got reckless by his impatience. The accident happened at an intersection where he passed the red light and crashed into another car at a high speed. Luckily him and the other driver were saved but my friend could never walk again. Imagine his mother knows his son lost his life just to see her at the hospital, yet it was understandable why he got impatient, this worthless and pathetic piece of action could have taken a loved one from his family. I was shock but still fortunate to know my friend is alive. This taught him a life-lesson and more importantly, taught every other driver too. The intention from him was never irrational but his decision and action were the causes of this accident. It is still considered an irresponsible action because he did not take his life and other drivers’ life seriously regardless of his situation or problem at that moment.

To sum up from the steps mentioned above and the personal experience of driving accident, I will be a cautious and responsible driver to keep everybody safe. In terms of the knowledge and experience, some people will overlook their actual skills and abilities just because of that. Once they think they have certain knowledge or experience, they become reckless drivers or so-called ‘showing off’. This is the mindset I must avoid and keep reminding self not to carry in any situations. More importantly, remind those around us and correct them when necessary. In terms of the driving content, it is our responsibility to keep learning and educating ourselves no matter the level of driving we are at. Always carry a positive attitude to keep learning and enhancing ourselves, never let our ego overcompensate our decisions. In terms of alcohol and drugs, I am never a big fan of alcohol where I seldom drink. Drugs are the things I will stay away all time as I understand the side effects they can bring to us. This was the way how my parents taught me and I will continue to educate the next generation with it. Consequently, I commit to be a safe and responsible driver for the rest of my life and I’m determined to fix the issue and stop letting people especially teenagers and young adults like me to risk their lives.