Drive Safer With Drivers ed

Evan
Rein

January
18, 2020

Drive
Safer With Drivers ed

In
the United States today one of the most important deterrents against
unsafe driving and ultimately driving deaths is drivers ed.
This education is not only important for learning how to drive
safely, but more importantly, how to be a safe driver in taking
defensive measures to protect yourself and others when driving. There
are many steps to improve drivers ed so that driving deaths
can be both prevented and reduced. While education is important in
preventing deaths, personal action can be just as effective. Further,
there are many different actions that individuals can take to better
protect themselves and others while driving. Drivers ed is the
best way to prevent driving deaths in the United States.

Drivers ed is one of the
most important deterrents against unsafe driving, as such, it is the
logical place to start when finding solutions to driving deaths. In
drivers ed, students learn both the rules of the road and
the importance of safe driving on their part. This education is vital
to the prevention and reduction in deaths caused by unsafe driving.
While the current drivers ed programs are effective enough,
they can be further improved to help students learn more about
personal safety when behind the wheel. In 2016 a DOT report stated
that one of the top causes of driving deaths was distracted driving.
As such I propose that as part of drivers ed, students be
required to complete a closed driving course where they learn the
effects of distracted driving. This course would allow students the
opportunity to observe and experience firsthand the effects that
distracted driving has on road safety. This experience allows
students to learn that distracted driving results in many safety
risks and dangers. Further, this experience will encourage students
to form safe driving habits by not being distracted while driving.
The best way for students to learn the effects of distracted driving
is to experience those effects first hand and experience them in a
safe controlled environment. I believe that the best way to prevent
and reduce driving deaths is through education and safe experiences.

As
a driver for the past two years and a passenger for eighteen years I
have had the great fortune not to have ever been involved in a car
accident. However, I have firsthand observed many unsafe practices on
the part of my friends and family whilst driving. The number one
distraction that I have observed has been the use of a cell phone
while driving. My family tends to be distracted by talking on their
phone while driving. On the other hand, my friends tend to be
distracted by communicating through both text and social media
messaging. In my opinion, both forms of communication are very
distracting and result in safety oversights. While talking and
driving is distracting, texting results in the driver taking the eyes
off of the road which put themselves, their passengers, and other
drivers at extreme risk in the event of a car accident. To combat
this there are several actions that I have taken and recommend to my
family and friend to prevent these safety oversights. One is the use
of the Do Not Disturb feature which many cell phones have today. This
feature will silence all notifications and calls from reaching the
driver until they have reached their destination. For those who do
not wish to use that form of protection, I advise to buy a Bluetooth
calling system or using the one installed in their cars. The use of
this calling system results in the driver not having to hold their
phone while talking. I use both of these safety precautions so that I
am a safe driver and promote safety for my friends and family.

There
are many ways to protect drivers from deadly car accidents and
driving-related deaths in the United States. In the United States,
one of the leading causes of driving deaths distracted driving. As
such I believe that there are two ways to curb driving deaths caused
by distracted driving. The first solution is increased awareness in
the curriculum of drivers ed and a behind the wheel closed
driving course where students learn the effects of distracted driving
first hand. The first defense against distracted driving needs to be
education and safe learning experiences. The second part of the
solution is for drivers to use Do Not Disturb on their phones and if
needed use Bluetooth for necessary calls. By reducing the amount of
distracted driving on United States roads, the driving deaths will be
prevented and reduced.