Name: Mary Rachel Cox
From: Gainesville, FL
Votes: 0
Survival Amid Chaos Always Requires Constant Attention
Scholarship
Driver
Education Initiative Award – Annual Scholarship Opportunity 2020
Mary Rachel Cox
352-316-3903
mary.cox@smail.rasmussen.edu
Rasmussen
College, Ocala, Florida
Survival
Amid Chaos
Always Requires Constant Attention
“The best preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today”
(Darry D). We all would most likely agree that education prepares us
for life. Thorough drivers ed prepares us to live. This right
of passage for countless people ends in tragedy, all too soon. Often
it is because we were not prepared. Driving is so much more than
understanding and interpreting road signs or parallel parking. It is
rapt observation, keen awareness of surroundings, interpretation of
the effects of weather on different driving mediums and so much more.
Many agree life today may be hectic. Driving however, is orchestrated
chaos, that requires everyone to pay constant attention and know
their part.
Creating engaging, heart motivating, drivers ed programs for
individuals of all ages are imperative to reduce the number of
fatalities related to driving. These programs should encompass
logging a required number of hours driving in various weather
conditions, road mediums, and driving during various times of day and
night.
The skills should include entering and exiting interstate highways,
approaching toll booths, safely navigating work zones (properly and
improperly set up), switching lanes at various rates of speeds with
motorcyclists present among the vehicles. Additionally, graphic
explanation of the injuries that result from various types of
accidents is important as well. `
I have had the experience of being in a car accident. My friend was
driving to Miami, FL. My friend insisted I wear a seat belt. I
resisted. He refused to take me anywhere unless I did. We were
approaching an intersection and we had a green light. We were
entering the intersection and a driver who had a red light did not
stop. We hit them squarely in the center of the side of their
vehicle. There were no fatalities. The seat belt I was made to wear
saved my life. Upon being checked at the hospital, I discovered a
diagonal bruise across my chest and abdomen from the seat belt.
The steps we can all take to be a better and safer driver include
unplugging ourselves from cell phone distractions. Never drive when
you feel ill or are under the influence. Focus on the task at hand,
driving. Surround yourself with friends and associates who value life
as much as you do.
I took a basic driver improvement course years ago, that was far
from the ordinary. This class was taught by a man whose teaching
strategy reached the heart. He walked us through an accident where we
killed a child and did not go to prison, based on the proof it was an
“accident”. Then, he also walked us through seeing the parents
of that child out in public. The guilt and remorse that would
overwhelm us, with each memory of the accident, would most certainly
be our prison for the rest of our life.
The choice is ours. Will we take the privilege of driving seriously?
Will we maintain constant attention amid the chaos?
References
Meah, A. (2015). 35 Inspirational Quotes On Preparation. Retrieved
March 31, 2020, from
https://www.awakenthegreatnesswithin.com/35-inspirational-quotes-on-preparation/
