Who is in the Driver’s Seat?

Who
is in the Driver’s Seat?

Alaina
Utz

3/31/20

When
I looked up from my seat in the car, I saw a tree in front of me. My
name is Alaina Utz and I was in a car accident when I was nine years
old. Today in the United States there are over 37,000 people that die
from car accidents each year. I would like to discuss the importance
of drivers ed, my personal experiences, and the steps I take to
be a safe driver.

Learning
a new skill takes practice, especially driving. Through the course of
driving education, a person will learn about the certain dangers of
the road to the simple meanings of different signs. In a study from
the University of Nebraska, “11.1 percent of the driver’s
education cohort was involved in a car crash, compared to 12.9
percent of those who did not take drivers ed.” This is
very significant for the number deaths rated from the highest at ages
sixteen through eighteen. Without drivers ed many early
learning drivers will not obtain the necessary knowledge for safe
driving skills.

When
I was in fifth grade, I was in a car accident. My grandmother picked
me up from school and I jumped in the front seat of the car to then
color my journal. During the drive home, I felt the car shift
downwards. As I looked up from my drawings, I saw a tree right in
front of our path. My grandmother quickly steered the car back on to
the highway and back again to a stop the car completely. Earlier that
day my grandmother had been feeling dizzy throughout the day but
didn’t tell any of my family. Thankfully neither my grandmother nor
I was severely injured physically from the car accident.

Since
my car accident experience, I have taken very careful steps to ensure
I am a safe driver for myself and others on the road. Before learning
how to drive I made practices to watch the road, who was driving, and
the different upcoming road signs. These habits I made for myself
helped me become more prepared for driving itself. In high school, I
took the drivers ed class and behind the wheel with a
certified instructor. Through the process I learned the dangers of
the road as a driver and the factors of other drivers on the road as
well. I would suggest for early drivers to pay attention to good
driving figures before going on the road yourself.

I
believe that the importance of driving education impacts everyone’s
life on and off the road. Each of us has the choice to protect others
when we are driving. Whether you are in the driver’s seat or not
your experience in a vehicle influences your perspective of safe
driving. Everyone should implement the safe driving skills taught in
drivers ed to remind other drivers that safety is first. I
hope to encourage others in safe driving and to be aware of others on
the road each day.

Sources:

Road
Safety Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.asirt.org/safe-travel/road-safety-facts/

University
of Nebraska-Lincoln, Newman, I., & Shell, D. (2015, August 13).
Study: Drivers ed significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets.
Retrieved March 30, 2020, from
https://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study: Drivers ed
significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets