I regret to inform you…

When people receive their license, it is like earning freedom. They can go where they please… well kind of… when they please. Yet, having a license is a huge responsibility. There are many consequences that can follow with acting dangerously on the road more than just a ticket or a warning. Unfortunately, many drivers don’t know the true danger that driving can have. Driving can be a death sentence.

It is important for people, not only those in driver’s education, but everyone young and old to know about the truth of driving. From texting and driving to not wearing your seatbelt to turning on red without looking. Education can be the difference between your family coming home or an officer knocking on your door to let you know that they will never be. That one choice they made to not buckle up or to look at their phone can impact so much more than just their lives. They can strike someone passing leaving them unable to go home to their own families.

If people know of the dangers or even consequences that they can face for driving dangerously they would be much less likely to engage in such behaviors. Ensuring not only they, but everyone else is able to make it home for dinner.

I believe that a bi-yearly online education program which would be made mandatory for all drivers would prove to be beneficial. It is commonly found online that people think the elderly are dangerous drivers. A mandated score, like a shortened version of a written driver’s test, would keep not only them but every driver updated on pertinent information that could keep everyone safe on the road.

If the person does not pass the exam, then they could have one more chance at it because I do understand test anxiety is very real. Once they have failed the exam twice, they would be mandated to take a short class for a few weeks and relearn the information similar to drivers education. Then they would retake the written and drivers portion of the licensing exam. If that is failed, the person will have their license revoked. It is after that much education that I believe they are willing to ignore the safety standards of the roads and are a danger to not only those around them, but themselves as well.

When driving, people do not think of the dangers, but the thrill. The thrill of going fast down the road without your seatbelt, music blasting, and head out the window. Many times I have seen my friends and family engage in dangerous behavior as they drive. It makes me feel very unsafe. I make sure I remind them to buckle up, stay off their phone, and watch the road. I want them to come home safely. I don’t want to get a phone call that I will never see them again. If they pay attention they not only are helping themselves, but others around them too. They can see a driver swerving at them or an animal running into the road. Something they may have missed if they pulled out their phone to shoot a message. I want them home, so education systems should be put in place to make sure they make it home.

I am so passionate about this because I know the dangers driving can have on someone. My uncle was driving his motorcycle as he pulled a trailer behind it in the fall of last year. Not at the fault of anyone including himself, he went around a corner and lost control. He was killed almost instantly.

He was not an inexperienced driver and drove very safely. This just proves that accidents can happen to anyone. Education can stop the accidents that happen because of dangerous actions.

I remember every day the phone call I got from my mother. I was so overcome with emotion that I collapsed on the floor. I felt as though the air had been sucked out of my very soul at that moment. I sobbed and cried for days. I am very close to my family so to lose someone who I saw for every football game on Sunday and every BBQ hit me really hard. I do not wish for anyone else to ever get that phone call.

Everytime I get on the road, I know that an accident could happen. Driving is not only being aware of your actions, but others too. It is important to always look out for the unexpected and prepare yourself for it. Know how long it will take to react and how far you should be from the car ahead of you, when to have your lights on, and use your blinkers. These little actions can stop you from being a statistic… or the phone call that your friends and family dread.