RIVER ROAD

Jennifer
A Mejia

March
25, 2020

River
Road

Reckless
driving is so dangerous. It not only puts you, but others on the road
in danger as well. It is beneficial for everyone on the road to take
or to have taken a drivers ed class at least once for that
reason. There is so much to learn from drivers ed classes
other than a red, yellow, and green light or a stop sign.

In
drivers ed class, you learn about signs other than when to
stop. You learn about safe driving. There are many steps you learn
to avoid life-threatening situations, like death. The main one is to
obey traffic laws. You must always drive with no distractions, like
phones. You must always check your vehicle to make sure that
everything functions as it should before risking one’s self and
others on the road. Your vehicle and it’s parts should be in good
condition, but so should you. With that being said, you should
always avoid driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Furthermore,
driving under the influence is selfish and irresponsible.
We must think about our loved ones and the victim’s loved ones
before doing such stupidity.
Many car crashes are the outcome from driving irresponsibly and can
lead to severe injuries and even death. In 2019, Safer America
states
that roughly 1.3 million people die yearly due to car accidents
(SaferAmerica 2019). Having the knowledge I know now about driving
and the effect it has on our lives and animals, makes me very
conscious when driving. Especially after being in a car accident
myself.

One
day I decided to take my mom’s car, because one of my friends got
stabbed and did not have anyone to accompany her. I was taking
driving lessons around my house and felt very confident with the
skills I learned, although I had little experience and did not take
Drivers’ education classes at the time nor did I have a license. To
my ignorance I turned left on a two lane street on River Road in
Metairie, LA and got hit by a car who had the right-of-way. It was so
bad since I did not have insurance and ended up paying the guy out of
my pocket. Thank God we were not injured!

In
2018, Oregon DOT states teens ages 15-20 without Drivers’ education
are responsible for 91% of teen driver crashes (Oregon DOT 2018).
After that mistake, I worked on getting my drivers ed classes
done and got my license. To this day I have not been involved in any
other accident nor have I received a traffic ticket. Once you take
drivers’ education you feel better about yourself knowing that you
are being safe for yourself and others on the road. Being responsible
by not having distractions, being alert, checking basic parts on your
vehicle, obeying the laws, and lastly, actually taking your drivers
education classes help you become a safer driver.