Life is worth it: the importance of driver education.

A common activity that most Americans will do in their lives is driving. It can be useful but at the same time extremely dangerous and have detrimental effects if it is done carelessly. Some people do not realize the effects that careless driving can have on a person until it is too late. It can cause life threatening injuries, mental trauma, death, jail time and a lifetime of guilt. Driving accidents are becoming more common and it is important to educate people about driving to prevent these accidents. In the last three years, I found out about five car accidents, all involving high school classmates under 19. In all five accidents at least one person lost their life. No one should be losing their lives when performing an everyday activity, which is why education is so important for the safety of everyone on the road.

Driver education can spread awareness about the effects that careless driving can have. Taking the time and resources to educate people, especially inexperienced drivers, about the consequences driving can have could save someone’s life. If more people are made aware of these consequences, they will be more careful and will think twice about making a poor choice on the road. When education is given people will learn the importance of respecting speed limits, speeding can change someone’s life in seconds. Often young drivers will speed because they find it fun or because it gives them a rush of adrenaline, but this is where education must come and teach them that high speeds can mean loss of control. Loss of control can mean a bad accident and even death. Driving education can also teach drivers about the importance of not driving under the influence, this can put their life and everyone else’s at risk. An unwise decision such as drunk driving can mean a lifetime or regret. With education more drivers will realize why it is important to be careful with driving, which will diminish the number of deaths on the road. No one wants to lose their life or take someone else’s so with the proper education people will have the tools to prevent these deaths.

There needs to be changes made to make the road a safer place. The first step needs to be stricter rules on speeding. When driving drivers see speed limits but it is common for people to go even fifteen miles or more above the speed limit. I have seen people going fifty on a thirty-five-speed limit school zone. If there are police officers around strictly enforcing the limit it can prevent people from putting others at risk. This enforcement can be high fines or even jail time depending on how high over the speed limit they were going. Where I live, a thirteen-year-old girl was killed riding her bike from school after a car was speeding and hit her. This could have been prevented with proper education and stricter enforcement. Another step is reducing the number of distractions. Technology is becoming a huge part of our everyday lives, but this also means it can be very distracting. Phones can be a distraction such as answering calls when driving, changing music, or even taking a few seconds to respond to a text. Those few seconds can lead to death. There should be a function in the car that requires you to plug in your phone for the car to turn on and the car automatically blocks the phone when the person is driving. Other distractions can be eating while driving, it is important to educate people about eating when parked. Driving under extreme stress is another distraction so taking the step to give people the tools to control their temper can reduce deaths. Road rage or other emotional stress can lead people to unwise decisions on the road. The third step is helping people not drive under the influence. At bars, clubs, and restaurants if people are under the influence, it should be a requirement for them to give their car keys and the place should order them a free uber or Lyft. The person could also turn in their keys before drinking and pre-pay for an uber. At places such as colleges or even high schools there should be a company created by the school or students that students can text or call if they are under the influence. This company can take them home for free and keep them safe. The drivers would be volunteers that could earn community service hours. The fourth step is educating kids about the importance of safe driving from an early age, kids are sponges so when education starts early this will stay in their minds and be useful for when they start driving. As kids grow up, every fifteen-year-old should be required by law to take a free driving class that can be provided by the sheriff’s department. In here they can learn how to be safe on the road.

As a young driver, I have already made mistakes. I want to not repeat them to keep others and myself safe. I want to not speed, speeding can feel fun, but it is unsafe. So, a change I can make is following the speed limits. I can also have more patience when driving, instead of my temper leading me to make unwise choices that can lead to danger, I can take the time to breathe in and make rational choices. The third change is that when I start driving I should pt my phone out of reach, so I do not feel tempted to grab it. Some of my friends respond to texts when driving, I want to avoid this. A text message can wait until I am parked, losing my life over a text message or call is not worth it. Having an education about careless driving and making smart decisions can be helpful even if they seem unnecessary. Being alive and keeping others safe is much more important than changing your music or feeling like you should speed to get there faster. I have seen too many of my classmates lose their lives, I do not want to see any more of them lose their lives over careless driving on their part or because of someone else’s. Change needs to happen and that starts with education.