To Drive or Not to Drive

As
a resident of one of the busiest cities in the world, I can say from
personal experience that the streets are one of the most dangerous
places that you can find yourself in at any given moment. I am
seventeen years old, and in my years of being here I have witnessed
accidents, I have seen road rage up close, and I’ve even lost
people in my family to drunk or impaired drivers. Upon first glance,
I never saw a difference between attaining a license from Driving
School versus taking Drivers ed. Drivers ed
appeared to be a notion I had only heard of on television or from my
friends out of state. I never actually knew what it was for, other
than obtaining a license while you are in high school. However, both
of my parents have a handicap so it was a necessity for me to get my
license as soon as possible so I could handle the responsibilities
that were coming to me. They invested in my driving career by sending
me to driving school. Little did they know, in New York State, the
only way for an adolescent to obtain their license at seventeen is to
take a certified Drivers ed Course while also completing
ample hours of practice with a guardian. I didn’t love the idea
that I would have to start driving so soon, but I also knew that it
was the most convenient option. In taking Drivers Ed, I was shown
many cautionary tales about why things like driving while intoxicated
or while texting can be extremely deadly, and I was provided with all
of the information to prevent myself from being in situations like
that. I personally think that the streets would be much safer if
everyone took a defensive driving class or Drivers Ed. Some people
learn bad driving habits from their family members and then at the
age of eighteen, they are tested and they’re granted a license and
off they go. But they have no experience to go off of, they don’t
know what to do in every situation, and in some cases, they don’t
know what the consequences of their actions can be. For example, I
have a very close friend who got his license last year by taking
driving school and then passing his test. There was no delay because
he is twenty-one so he was able to get through the process fairly
easily. He never had a car, and therefore, never had real practice.
Recently he had driven me and another friend to a Sky Zone and we
were on the way back when he was distracted by his phone and he hit
another car. I personally am already scared straight because Driver’s
Ed showed me just how badly things can end from making one mistake
like that. But if he had more practice and access to the knowledge
that I had, he may have made a more conscious decision and not went
on his phone. At times, people don’t realize that a car is like a
gigantic weapon, so whoever is behind the wheel has to treat it as
such. The steps I take and I advise others to take when driving is to
have a no-phone policy. I actually used to laugh at things like that
because I never understood how compelling the phone could be when
someone near you is on one too. But I’ve found that just having
some music on (not super loud) or having a real conversation with
your passengers, or even just enjoying a nice quiet car ride is way
better than being in the car with a bunch of people on Tik Tok or
Instagram watching videos or looking at memes. I’d also recommend
not having over the designated amount of people in the car because
that can get too frantic and make for distracted driving. And
especially in New York, I think I can fairly say, the drivers here
are “extreme” so there isn’t much room for error, and there
usually isn’t either way. Taking precautions while driving, and
ensuring that one knows what to do in situations, to me, are the best
ways that people can keep roads safe.