Select Page

Driver Education – Drivers license and its dangers

Name: Sahra Vakil Adli
From: Maria Enzersdorf, Austria
Votes: 0

Drivers license and its dangers

Drivers Licence and its Dangers

by Sahra Vakil Adli

Getting my driver’s license has changed my life drastically, in a positive way of course. It felt like getting one step closer to freedom, being able to live my life and having to depend on mom and dad a little less.

Now, I am sure I can speak for all the teenagers out there when I say driving around by myself is a great feeling. I feel like nothing can stop me except maybe a red light. But this is where many people get it wrong. They don’t acknowledge that driving can very well be dangerous. Of course, we hear about fatal car accidents on the news but that could never happen to us, am I right? Or can it?

Well, I can assure you, it can and it will if you don’t pay attention. Have you ever tried to count from 1 to 34000. Hard, isn’t it? This is the number of people who die in car accidents in the US each year. It is vital to educate all future drivers properly or else the death rate will keep rising.

If we let young teenagers out there, unprepared and inexperienced, we endanger everyone. Because how could they know better if they haven’t been taught?

Of course, not only freshly licensed drivers lead to traffic hazard but everyone who is incapable of behaving accordingly. You do not have to prove to your friend how cool you are by driving faster than allowed. Smoking while driving or worse, driving drunk is not advisable either. If you sit in the driver’s seat you carry an enormous responsibility because you are not only responsible for yourself but for everyone else in the vehicle.

I believe the best way to make the streets a safer place is by showing people that their actions have consequences. Showing more accidents on the news, of course only if the victims are in favor, could be an effective way of making people realize the possibly absolutely terrible consequences. Furthermore, obligatory workshops for young people should be organized once or twice a year even after they get their license to spread awareness about possible consequences of irresponsible driving and refresh their knowledge.

Many people are just way over their heads sometimes and it is no shame to forget a rule. That happens to everyone. It is a shame however to ignore a rule because you think they are unnecessary. I can assure you, rules have their reasons. If you do not follow them, measures have to be taken. It sounds harsh, but when it comes to the life of innocent people, innocent children and babies, I would not hesitate to do everything in my power to protect them. What could be worse than having to tell someone their child died because you did not want to be late to work? Of course, being a driver comes along with a certain pressure but the moment you decide to get your driver’s license you have to be able to cope with that pressure. The moment you cannot cope with it anymore or feel that you are not able to drive anymore, you have to be honest to yourself and stop. For the sake of everyone.

Unfortunately, I have experienced that especially men tend to overestimate their abilities concerning driving. I have seen it in my own family and to be honest I have lost count of how many times we almost had an accident when my father was driving. I don’t know why he feels the need to drive as if he was in an action movie because he is not. The real world is not like a movie. But he is not the only one. Many people seem to fail to realize the danger such behaviors hold.

But if my dad has taught me one thing then it is that I will never drive like him. I have made myself a promise to be more cautious when driving. Whenever I am in a hurry I tell myself that no appointment or obligation can ever be more important than my life or that of anyone else on the street. Whenever I go to parties I make sure to take public transport or walk and if I can avoid it, I don’t make a phone call in the car.

It is the little things. Just by changing small things in your daily routine you can save not only your own life but that of so many others. I cannot tell you to do anything but I beg you all to drive with caution. Situations can change from one moment to the next and even though we might think we can react in time it is scientifically proven that in most cases we can’t.

You cannot take anything in your life for granted, not even your way home from work.