Safely in the Driver’s Seat

Education
is the key to everything in life and driving is no exception. 
If everyone drove around without knowing the rules, it would just
lead to chaos and confusion which would lead to an increase in
accidents and ultimately deaths. In the state of North Carolina, a
drivers ed class is only required for persons under the age of
18.  It should be required for all new drivers regardless of
age. A person who has never driven a car is not more knowledgeable
of the rules just because they are older and have more experience as
a “back seat driver.” Therefore, the first step reduce the number
of deaths as a result of driving is to require all drivers to take a
rigorous education class including supervised driving hours in order
to apply for a drivers license.

Second,
harsher punishments for those breaking the rules would help keep
unsafe drivers off the road and reduce the number of deaths. 
Unfortunately, I have had the experience of being in a car accident
due to the irresponsibility of a 15 year old taking her mother’s car
for a joy ride.   The illegal, uneducated driver turned in front
of my dad and when he swerved to avoid a head on collision he flipped
his truck with myself and 3 brothers in the vehicle. 
Thankfully, we were all okay but it was terrifying. The girl
suffered no legal consequences for her actions which makes no sense.
She put her life in danger as well as the lives of 5 other people. 
Too many times situations just like this do not turn out to have the
same outcome. If there were stricter and more consistent punishments
for drivers who break the law, then drivers would be more alert and
conscious of their actions.  More alert and conscious drivers
would reduce the number of driving accidents thus reducing the number
of fatalities.

Lastly,
I myself find, now that I am a driver, that there are too many
distractions when driving; the radio, cell phone, friends or siblings
riding in the car.   To be a better and safer driver, we need to
learn to manage the distractions around us. I have an app on my
phone that will turn off alerts when I reach a certain speed. If I
make a call on my phone, I make sure to always use a speaker so I can
have both hands free to drive.  The radio is my biggest weakness
but I try to keep it at a level where I can still hear sounds around
me. I drive my younger brothers back and forth to school or various
practices and I want to set a good example for them so they are safe
on the road when they get their license.