In The Driver Seat

In this essay, I will share my thoughts on the importance of driving safely, driver’s education & steps we can take to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. Being in the Driver Seat is a huge responsibility! How you drive affects your safety as well as others around you.

Driver Education is so important not only for yourself but for all of those around you. Everyone who drives or plans to drive needs to be knowledgeable of driver safety and the driving risks that come along with it. I think everyone should have to receive driver’s education several times during their life. Things have changed over the years and will continue to change so I think that everyone should have to take a driver’s education course every 20 years. This should be required before they can renew their license. As we know, the first time a person can receive their driver’s license is at the age of 16 years old. All students should go through driver’s education at the time they receive their driver’s license at the age of 16 years old. The age group that has the most car accidents is 25-34 with about 1,000 more deaths per year more than drivers under 25.

Drivers Education should be a ½ semester course that is required in high school. Students should be required to take this drivers education course before receiving their driver’s license. I have heard of a driver’s school that teens can take that will give them several classes for driving safety and even show students pictures of people killed in accidents and pictures of cars in accidents. The price to attend this driving school is expensive so most students can’t afford it. I think that Insurance companies should require you to take drivers ed.

I have never been in a car accident but I know other people who have been in accidents. I haven’t experienced it personally but have spoken to others that have been in accidents. I have a neighbor that was riding his motorcycle on the interstate and was hit by a car. Unfortunately, he lost his leg in the accident. Driving a car is a huge responsibility. The car weighs thousands of pounds. If someone is driving over the speed limit and hits another car the damage can be deadly.

Things that can be a distraction while driving is music and cell phones. I think music needs to be turned down to a minimum because loud music keeps you from hearing things around you. I believe that if a car is in Drive mode then your cell phones should have a texting option that turns off automatically as you enter a car and put it in Drive. With today’s technology, this should be possible. If a phone’s music can connect to the car than texting options should be able to connect to the car too. Over the last few years, technology has improved with cars and cell phones in cars. Syncing your phone to the car so that you can talk on the phone while driving has helped decrease the number of accidents. The Hands Free Law in TN has helped save lives by reducing distracted driving. I think all states should use this same law for all drivers of all ages.

Other things that can help reduce the number of deaths is car safety. Keeping your car maintained regularly is an important part of driver safety. Breaking down on the side of the road is very unsafe. Many accidents occur when people get out of their cars on the side of the road for accidents or car/tire problems. Also, when emergency vehicles are on the side of the interstate you must always get over in the other lane so no one is injured. This is a law in TN and should be in all states.

Last but not least, Drinking & Driving is prohibited! There is no reason why anyone should get behind the wheel of a car if intoxicated. We have Uber, Lyft, & taxis. All students in high school should receive an educated lesson on the importance of NOT drinking and driving. There are so many drivers in the U.S. and it would help if all states had the same driving rules. Driving the speed limit & being aware of your surroundings are two very important things to do while driving I believe repeating driver’s education and tests every 20 years will help decrease accidents. Too many lives are lost because of lack of driver’s education. We can make a difference if laws change and people obey the laws.