Safer Roads for all

Being raised by a father who has driven semi trucks cross country for 26 years, driver education has been a staple in my household. Driver education such as learning, then taking those skills and applying it into the world is very important. Todays society and kids my age are now getting adapted to the new autonomous vehicles, however, I will never believe that there will be vehicles that will not need any human assistance. Driver education allows adolescents, as well as teens, adults, and even the elderly that at any given moment, an accident can occur which can lead in life threatening injuries or even fatalities. For example, being from a state where there is a dense population of motorcycle riders, the number one concern it to always check your surroundings as well as pay attention to the drive. At any moment, a single text message can cause the driver their life or the motorcyclist theirs because of selflessness or reckless driving. A lesson like this was taught to me by my father from a very young age because he has seen all types of incidents all across the country due to carelessness as well as uneducated. An example would be the ice storm in Fort Worth, Texas which resulted in a 133 car pileup and led to six deaths. Something like this could have been prevented if the state had taken better precautions leading up to this, however, the drivers who were ignorant to the freezing temperatures as well as moisture filled atmosphere, they lacked the knowledge of black ice and precautions to take. This had unfortunately led to the pile up which only if they knew how dangerous black ice was, they could have driven with more caution.

Steps to be taken to reduce deaths in driving would be simply to educate yourself. Besides educating yourself, it would mean nothing if it is not applied. For example, hydroplaning, it is a very dangerous incident after heavy rainfall, yet there are still people with lifted jeeps and trucks that see this as an activity to show off who has the biggest splash, however, they lack the knowledge that at any moment the water will not forgive and cause an extremely unsafe environment and can potentially lead to a crash and death. Or even during the winter, when the roads are still snow packed and people want to drift, they can end up flipping their cars, hurting themselves or others. Simple steps would be to step back, re evaluate and think about your decisions as well as the repercussions.

I have been in an accident where it was just myself against and object where I mindlessly drifted in the snow and smacked my car into a sign post. I had not thought about what might go wrong, however I only thought about my joy in the moment, but this had led me to a body shop bill of $500. Besides myself my cousin had driven irresponsibly on multiple occasions which I had always brought up to let him know this is not going to end well. After multiple recommendations on driving respectable and responsible, his luck was up to where he had totaled his brand new and favorite car for his carelessness. The irresponsible driving caused his car to spin out when it mattered the most in which not only did it affect him, but it affected his insurance too and this taught him the lesson that he go to a defensive driving course to learn how to drive with more caution, as well as to respect the vehicle because there is no forgiveness. Another example would be my friend who did not respect the power of his motorcycle and ended up in a crash leading to a surgery. Although it was partially his fault and partially the vehicle, this could have been avoided by having better knowledge of safe riding procedures.

For someone like myself, being a better and safer driver is important to me because of my love for cars, trucks, and motorcycles. I believe I posses the knowledge and ability to respect the vehicles and power for them, however, I still will learn and continue to apply my caution while driving. But, not only this, I also have instilled in me that if I do not respect the road, a police officer will remind me, and paying the fines and higher insurance is not something I look forward to doing. Also, driving is to be done with the mindset of leaving home but also returning safe and sound. I will constantly apply these skills and practices to make sure I don’t end up in a life threatening predicament myself or towards others.