Safe Driver Education

Car accidents are one of the leading causes of death in the entire world. Driver education is extremely important. No person should be driving until they have thorough knowledge and understanding of driver education. There are so many important aspects of safe driving that can help reduce the number of deaths while driving, some of which include wearing a seatbelt, using a turning signal, staying a safe distance away from the car in front of you, and not drinking while driving. The more educated a person is the better as they are less likely to be involved in an accident.

I know all too well what it is like to be in a car accident. I have been in three car accidents in my life. Two of them were not very serious and not caused by me, but by other distracted drivers. One, really bad one, was caused by me because of a deer running in front of my car. I was just 17 years old, only had my car for 6 months, when I was driving late at night to pick my mom up from work. I had to drive on a long country road to get to her job which was an hour away from where we lived. I had never driven on a country road at night before. I brought my older sister along because I was under the age of 18 and was not legally allowed to drive by myself after midnight. Everything was going fine. I picked my mom up from work and we were on our way back when all of a sudden something came in front of my car. I swerved before realizing that there was a car coming the opposite direction. We collided into each other going 50 mph. I realized afterwards that it was a deer that ran in front of my car, thankfully nobody died. Everybody was okay just a little banged up, except for my sister. Due to the cars colliding on her side, she broke every major bone on the right side of her body and had burns on her face due to the airbag. She had to stay in a hospital for a month and afterwards was in a wheelchair for 5 months.

Even though it was a terrible car accident, that accident has made me a better driver today. It really made me open my eyes and pay more attention to my surroundings while driving. Some steps that I can take to become a better driver include staying up to date with the rules and laws of driving and lowering my speed. I try to stay at or below the speed limit, but sometimes I can be a little heavy footed when it comes to driving, not too much, just maybe 5-10 mph over the speed limit. Whenever I drive with others I always make sure they are not distracted. I do not like when people text, or do anything on their phones while driving. Because I’ve been in a terribly bad accident I make sure to help others to avoid the same thing.

One step that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is educating drivers on what to do in case of unexpected events. Hitting a large animal like a deer can be disastrous for a driver. It can cause car damages and even injuries to passengers, but swerving is worse. Had I learned that it is better to hit a deer head on than to swerve I would not have swerved. I was never taught that. Another unexpected event that drivers need to know what to do in the event that it happens is hydroplaning. Hydroplaning was also not taught to me in drivers education. Drivers should know that when they are hydroplaning it is similar to driving on ice. They should take their foot off the gas, but to not apply the break. Unlike tapping on the breaks when driving on icy roads, hitting on the breaks will likely cause sliding. Another step that can be taken is looking a few cars ahead while driving and planning ahead. Rear end accidents, especially on a highway, are caused all too often because of sudden braking. Noticing multiple cars ahead of you breaking can allow you those extra much needed seconds to brake before even the car in front of you breaks and can help avoid an accident. It is better for someone to be prepared before hand than to try to fix a mistake after it has happened.