Keeping the Roads Safe Together

Driver education is required so people can learn how to drive safely for themselves and others on the road. Drivers education is significant in the journey for new drivers getting their licenses because their brain has not fully matured and developed. This means oftentimes teens cannot correctly make decisions and to add on the inexperience they have driving by themselves at the beginning when they get their license, the situation can be even worse. Also studies have shown teens who do not get enough sleep, end up driving the same way a drunk driver would drive. So, educating teens with segment one and segment two drivers training leads to them not only being more careful and experienced on the road, but being more aware of what can cause accidents. In drivers education, one topic or focus are distractions, which is very important because young drivers need to limit their distractions so they can increase their awareness and decrease the chance of accidents and number of deaths. Some common distractions teens have while driving are friends, music, and cell phones. Limiting distractions for young drivers will only lead to less death. For example, teens can get into an accident because they are on their phone taking pictures or texting friends while driving. If the phone is hidden and locked from the driver, they will not worry and look at their phone right away when a notification pops up, meaning that their eyes and focus will only be on the road.

To reduce the number of deaths related to driving, as a society, we need to take certain steps to increase safety on the road. One easy step which can be taken is putting on a seatbelt. Many people overlook a seatbelt and think it is no big deal, but in reality it is a major factor for safety. Seatbelts are made specific for our safety in the car, so when someone chooses not to wear a seat belt they are placing themselves in harms way. Therefore, putting on a seatbelt automatically decreases death related to driving, because when a person gets into an accident they are more protected by the seat belt, reducing potential of injury and even ejection from the vehicle. Also, it is the drivers responsibility to always insist all passengers buckle up in every seat. Another step is to always use the designated driver to ensure everyone gets home safely for others and ourselves. Never let a person who may have been affected by alcohol or drugs get behind the wheel because, not only is it illegal but extremely dangerous. When a person drives with alcohol or drugs affecting their system, they become imparied and are unable to make correct or timely decisions while driving as their minds are not stable enough to make judgments and quickly react in situations when driving. Never overestimate your ability to multitask, do not text and drive. If a message is so crucial, the driver needs to pull over and handle it when they are not driving. Moreover, drivers need to go the speed limit based on the conditions of the roads. For example if the roads are icy, the driver should drive at a comfortable and safe rate, even if it is under the speed limit. People need to follow the speed limit or go under the speed limit when needed because those speed limits are set for everyone’s safety. When those limits are not followed, this often results in more deaths and accidents due to reckless driving and increased severity of damage caused simply due to the excessive speed..

I have seen and experienced car accidents throughout my life. I have only had a few accidents with my parents driving, but I have seen many accidents happen all around me because of irresponsible driving. Many of the accidents my mom has been through have been because other drivers were being irresponsible. For instance, she was hit from behind because the other driver was distracted by the girls running outside and he was not paying attention to when he needed to stop within a safe distance, resulting in the crash. Some steps I can take to become a safer driver for others and myself on the road is to limit my distractions. Such as keeping the music at a low volume, putting my phone in my bag rather than leaving it out in plain view, encouraging the use of designated drivers as a default, and making sure everyone, including myself, buckles their seatbelt. Also I can plan out my schedule for when to leave so I give myself plenty of time to get wherever I need to be so I am not late, rather than rushing on the roads and going over the speed limit. Overall, if every driver, both young and old, follow these steps, the roads will be safer and the number of accidents and deaths related to them will decrease.