Driving is a Privilege

Driving is a privilege and not a right. It is something that should be viewed as beneficial for you and should not be taken advantage of. My parents were always busy working two jobs and continuously on the move. I always enjoyed playing sports and was on multiple sports teams. My three younger siblings were also involved in sports and our parents enjoyed watching us whenever they could. They would drive us all around town for practice. Moving from city to city for tournaments and matches, and whatever the case may be. We were constantly on the road.

I always enjoyed road trips or driving for long periods of time. I remember growing up and hardly hearing or seeing automobile accidents. Car accidents have become increasingly popular due to the fact of easy access to cellphones and other devices. According to the Washington Post (2019), more Americans have died in automobile accidents since 2000 than people who died in World War One and World War Two combined. That is a scary thought.

Before I got my license it wasn’t mandatory to take a driver’s education course. My high school offered it as an extracurricular and upon completion you got a discount on your car insurance. Well, it turns out that most car insurance companies just use that as your “good student discount”, which is required from your most recent report card. Since I didn’t take a driver’s education course I needed extra practice with my parents. In the state of Florida, you can obtain your driver’s license once you are sixteen, but you must have a learner’s permit for an entire year before you can get your driver’s license. I believe this is a law that is not common in other states. In Florida, you must have your learner’s permit for a full year before you are legally allowed to take your driver’s license exam. My parents had me wait till I was sixteen before I could get my learner’s permit. They wanted me to become more mature, which I believe is the right decision and what most parents should do. I think making it a legal requirement for people once they turn sixteen can get their learner’s permit, and must wait an additional year so they can mature and prepare for their driving exam. This will help reduce deaths in automobile accidents, especially among teenage-to-young adults.

As I have read that a driver’s education course isn’t mandatory, I believe it should be. The compensation for a discount on your car insurance is enticing, but that shouldn’t be the reason people sign up for this class. I believe it should be a mandatory class for sophomores and juniors in high school. School board members make government and financing a requirement for graduation, but why not drivers education. Unfortunately, I know fellow students who didn’t graduate high school due to passing away in a car accident, as I am sure almost every high school student does. I believe this should be changed immediately and should not be a controversial topic.

Big-tech corporations know that cellphones and devices have been one of the root causes of the increase in automobile deaths. Distraction is the leading factor in the reason for car accidents, according to Steinger (2022). Most companies are now putting in settings on devices that detect when they are moving above a certain speed. These devices will lock themselves and you will not be able to use them until you are at standstill or at a slower speed. I think this is a step in the right direction, but there is more than can be done.

I, unfortunately, have been in a car accident before. I was driving and rear-ended somebody who cut in front of me. I was unaware and not totally locked in while driving and didn’t realize how sudden this person made their move. I didn’t notice their turn signal which on the highway can be very dangerous. Thankfully, no one got hurt and we had a meaningful exchange and were able to sort it out peacefully. Sometimes I reflect on “what if?”. There could have been many different outcomes from this accident but the least damaging one occurred. Ever since that accident, I am more conscious than ever. The accident happened a little over 6-months after I got my driver’s license. A hard lesson to learn, but it didn’t cost me my life or anyone else around me. I don’t recommend learning it like how I did, which should emphasize the importance of awareness while driving.

The next step that I have been taking is using my cruise control when I am on the road. It helps keep your car at a constant speed, and also saves you gas! It is a win-win for everybody and I recommend everybody that has that feature to use it. Another idea that I have been implementing is trying my best to avoid going over the speed limit. There is a driving stereotype of people going 9-10+ over the speed limit and believing they won’t get pulled over by the police. Well, speeding is the 2nd leading cause of car accidents and shouldn’t be taken lightly. I know people want to get to point A to point B as fast as they can. You must stop and think is shedding a couple of minutes off your commute worth a ticket or a life? I always think of the little things while driving like the conditions of the road, how fast is everyone around me, and the area that I am in. I believe if people take a step back from the gas pedal and realize the amount of power they have behind the wheel, we can turn this driving statistic around.