In The Drivers Seat

At the age of 16 and 17, I got to watch all of my friends receive their licenses and drive wherever they wanted. I stayed at home in the safety of my house and never even tried to get my permit until I was 17. This is because I developed a fear of driving caused by the high number of deaths that resulted from cars. I would freak out behind the wheel and did not push to get my license until I knew I was over the fear. This is because I knew it was unsafe for me to put myself in a situation where letting my panic overtake me would cause a disaster. It took me some time to get over my fear by slowly introducing myself to driving and becoming comfortable, so I did not get my license until I was 18. Because I am aware of the dangers of driving, I am a cautious driver that follows all the rules to ensure the safety of myself and others around me.

A proper driver education allows more people to receive the knowledge of what to do to prevent accidents. That is why I believe more schools should offer and require driving classes because not only will it prepare them for life outside of school, but it’s also a skill everyone should be able to have the resources to learn. It can also teach students how to properly handle themselves on the road and avoid accidents. This is really important because it will contribute to the decrease of deaths resulting from driving. I believe there should be stricter speeding laws because speeding has become too normalized. Not only is it dangerous, but speeding puts everyone on the road at risk. The speed limits are there for our safety and ignoring them helps nobody.

The most important step to take to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is to always stay alert on the road. Eliminating distractions such as phones and other devices is crucial to this step. Eliminating other influences like alcohol and drugs can also benefit the efforts to decrease the amounts of deaths related to cars. My mom has told me many stories of how she lost most of her high school friends to drinking while driving back in the 90s. Because of the irresponsible actions of her classmates, she lost one of her best friends to a drinking and driving incident. Seeing its impact on her has made me never want to do it and has highlighted the serious dangers of irresponsible driving.

You can not expect everyone to make a change unless you are able to make an effort as well. While I feel like I am already a responsible driver, there is always room for improvement. I stick to the speed limits, I use my turn signals, I never use my phone, and most importantly, I never drive when I feel exhausted. Driving while sleepy or drowsy is something that can decrease my attention to the road, and increase my chances of an accident, so I never take that chance. However, I can say that becoming a better driver would mean I’d have to sacrifice the volume of my radio. While driving, I blast my music, but this is not safe because it takes away my sense of hearing and deafens me to what’s going on around me. I could miss the sounds of emergency vehicles, the sounds of horns warning me of something, or the noise of trains approaching on the tracks. I’d rather have no music than no life at all. This is also something I encourage others to look into because I know numerous people who blast their music while being deaf to the road around them. While sight is the most important sense to have on the road, hearing can enhance our driving performance. In order to help others become safer on the road, I have to do it myself. Being a good passenger in the car is extremely beneficial to the driver being safer on the road. This means I must limit conversation so they can focus, and eliminate unnecessary distractions for them. I can also navigate for them so they do not have to stress about where to go and can focus on obeying the rules of the road. Another step I can take is to point out any issues I notice to ensure that they are getting the full perspective of the road. Helping them is in the end helping everyone on the road.