Fewer Accidents for More Life

It is essential that the number of driving accidents decreases in their entirety so that no more innocent lives are taken. This change must come from within, and this problem must be made aware to the public in order for a change to happen. This can be successful if driving school becomes a requirement before being able to obtain a diverse license, and if DUI offenders are permanently removed from the road.

There needs to be a federal law that requires people to attend a full course of driving school, (free of charge) before being able to obtain a driver’s license. It only makes sense. One cannot graduate high school without getting an education. Likewise, If one wants to drive, they will need driver’s education first. Not only should anyone who is aspiring a license attend driver’s school, but they should be taught statistics and facts about the road that are commonly overlooked. They need to be aware that certain driving techniques will result in an accident and that accidents will harm or end their lives. Although this is true, some people care more about money than they do about their health. Healthcare is not free, and neither is insurance. I did not know this when I was sixteen and started driving. If I did, however, know that even a small accident could put me in debt for the rest of my life, I would have been more careful.

I am very grateful that I have never been in a car accident myself, however, I have seen uneducated teens ruin not only their lives but their family’s lives as well, by not receiving the proper driver’s education. My older brother did not attend any driving school. He simply passed a very simple driving test, after failing his permit test, and was then let legally loose on the road. He did not have a car, so he decided to borrow my sister’s car and completely totaled it. The car was my sister’s pride and joy, as well as my mother’s legal obligation. Because the accident was his fault, insurance did not cover the cost of the wreck. My mom is still paying off the car, and the accident was six years ago. He not only deprived my sister of her right to responsibly drive, but he caused his single mother extreme financial stress. Imagine the stress she would have had to endure if she had to plan a funeral for her first son, on top of the cost of the wreck.

It is important that the driver’s test becomes more complex and more focused on safety than anything. If the test prepares the aspiring drivers for accidents, then fewer accidents would occur on the road. Instead, teenagers only prepare to make a few left-hand turns, rather than practice stopping a car from sliding into a ditch.

Simple carelessness is not the only way wrecks occur. Arkansas is ranked the seventh-worst state for drunk driving in the country, according to studies. In three years, there have been five hundred fatal car accidents caused by alcohol, in the small state of Arkansas. A coworker of mine has played a part in this statistic. Before I met her, her license was revoked for driving while under the influence of alcohol. However, she only had to attend a few meetings and had her license back within two years of the incident. Now, she continues to drive recklessly as if nothing ever happened. Anyone with a DUI needs to be permanently removed from the road, by completely revoking their license. This will surely create some positive change on the road, because people will only want to change bad behaviors when negative punishment is enforced.

Even if this change is made federally for the sake of Arkansas drivers, I commit to making a change within my own car. I realize that any time I glance at my phone while driving, I am potentially causing problems on the road, by not letting my full attention be on driving. I vow to completely turn off my phone while I am driving and will put it in the console until I reach my destination. I also vow to be an example for those around me. I have already implemented change by telling all of my friends, and more, about my brother’s car accident, and the importance of being fully capable o driving well before being allowed to drive on your own. I may even make a bet with my friends in order to keep them off of their phones while driving.

Driving is a privilege, not a right, and change will not come until more people are educated on the importance of safe driving. A driving school must become a requirement for this change to occur, and drunk drivers must be banned from driving permanently as well. Kids need to see driving as a responsibility, rather than a right of passage for teenage fun. When this happens, lives will be saved. Arkansas needs fewer accidents for more life.