Drivers ed Initiative Essay Contest

Erica Ross

17 years old

High School
Senior

February 9, 2020

Driver
Education Initiative Essay Contest 2020

Hello, my name
is Erica Ross. I thought to start off this essay I would tell you
about a long-life dream. I was accepted to the University of Alabama
at Birmingham and I live on the outskirts of Birmingham, right in
Trussville. I am going to get my bachelor’s in science of Nursing
and my dreams are to eventually become a Labor & Delivery Nurse.
I have always dreamed of becoming a nurse since I was in middle
school, but I didn’t realize how much I truly wanted to become a
Labor and Delivery Nurse until I shadowed my sister who is one this
past Christmas 2019. I was able to see a lot more than most academic
observers. I was lucky enough to witness 2 natural births, as well as
2 cesarean section births. This experience was very eye opening but
beautiful all in one. I would be so grateful to win this scholarship
and use it towards college because as we all know college is
extremely expensive, especially going into nursing school and having
my parents to support me and my twin sister who is going into
Veterinary. Now onto my essay.

I feel a way
drivers ed reduces deaths is because the teachers give you
more in-depth information on driving for all new drivers. Some
students don’t have fortunate enough parents to help them
thoroughly enough to understand how to drive. I took driver’s
education at my school during my sophomore year. I felt that they
educated me more in depth with driving more than my parents did. My
parents all they did was stress me out while I was driving and would
yell at me and make me panic. The teachers are very calm and help you
relax so you’re not nervous when you’re driving with them. My
teacher said in all 10 years of him teaching drivers ed, only
3 people had failed his class, which is unbelievable. He told you
when to start slowing down when coming to a stop sign, how to
understand when knowing you have the right of way, covers state laws
and why they were established, etc.

How can driving
deaths be reduced? Well I feel they would be greatly reduced if
states would establish more laws and maybe up to the federal level.
As for state laws, not every state is hands-free driving, only 20 out
of 50 states are hands free, Arizona, Washington D.C., and California
are included in those 20. I feel more than 20 states should be
hands-free driving because most vehicular crashes are either caused
by distracted driving from cell phones or drunk driving. Speaking of
drunk driving, if you are at a bar and get drunk, I feel the
bartenders should have the right to take your keys and give them to a
sober responsible person in your party or call you a cab and not give
your keys back until you’re in the cab, that can drastically change
drunk driving fatalities just by taking their keys.

I haven’t ever
been in a car or witnessed a family member or friend driving
irresponsibly but my cousin back in August 2015, was only 22 years
old, his friend was with him in his pickup truck and he was also 22
years old. They live in Connecticut and they were driving south down
the interstate around 2 AM. They still don’t know what happened,
but in the end, they were both killed. The report says my cousin
sideswiped a car and he started rolling and ended up in the median,
but I don’t understand how a pickup truck can flip by sideswiping a
little car. So, I haven’t been in a car with an irresponsible
driver, but I can say that I have been through fatal car crashes with
loved ones and you’ll never fully recover.

I can admit, I am guilty to texting people when driving but if I
call someone it automatically connects to my cars Bluetooth, but I
don’t use it just because I’m bored, I only text someone if it is
truly important or I need to tell my parents or sister where I am and
where I am going. But I feel most states should have a hands-free
driving law, it would change America’s fatal driving death rate
drastically. I also feel police departments should have more traffic
cops out and about at night. I drive a lot at night because on
weekdays I normally get off at 9 PM and I can truly say, I never see
police officers over where I live. People of my town, over where I
live claim that it is the “rich” people neighborhood and a lot of
people party and get drunk over there and are out with their friends
doing crazy things. Most police officers are placed in the main part
of town where the police department is located but I feel they need
to have a more wider range to crack down on people, I also feel we
need to have more undercover cops around to catch drunks and people
on their phone because say you were driving down the interstate and
you see a cop, you drop your phone and slow down when you see them.
But if the cop was undercover, their car would look like a normal car
just stopped on the side of the road and they can truly catch you in
the act and reduce fatal distracted driver wrecks. Also, I have been
in cars with my family and friends before where they are jamming to
loud music and on their phone at the same time. I tell them to please
put it down, because honestly I don’t feel like dying today and
they normally listen unless they just don’t care but they should
because not only will you possibly be killed but you can kill the
people in the car with you and that will be on you.