Driver Education Initiative – Alert Today. Alive Tomorrow.

Cami Wetz

Findlay High School

Eleventh Grade

4 October 2019

Millions of people
have lost their lives or have been injured in car accidents around
the world. I had witnessed a terrible accident when I was 15 in a
half, which I will discuss later in my essay. Thank you for allowing
me to have this opportunity. This is a crucial topic.

Drivers ed is
very important and essential for all new drivers. Multiple studies
have shown, teens who had taken drivers ed were involved with less
crashes and less moving violations, compared to those who had not.
Drivers ed teaches students about the dangers and distractions of the
road to pay attention to, which helps students be more aware and
safer. The more crashes in students who had not taken drivers ed also
correlated with more deaths, as they had more severe crashes than
those who completed the course.

Common steps for
reducing driving related deaths include learning and being aware of
the dangers of the road, what to do in the event of an emergency,
removing distractions such as phones and hyper pets, and adjusting
mirrors & the radio station before driving. Those who call and
drive are four times more likely to be in a crash, and those who text
and drive are eight times more likely to be in one.

Yes. When I had my
permit and was with my dad practicing, I was stopped and waiting for
the road to clear on 224 to make a left turn. Another van was stopped
behind me. A huge van behind them had the driver not paying attention
and he did not stop in time and crashed into the van behind me. I was
told a split second before to floor it by my dad, which I did, so I
was not hit. The van behind me was hit so hard it went left of center
and collided with another car going 60 mph. Luckily, nobody was
seriously injured or killed. However, walking out with my dad and
seeing hurt young children crying and adults laying on the side of
the road, ready to be taken to the hospital, is something I will
always remember.

Some steps I can take are picking out my music before I start
driving, staying off my phone, turning off my brights when a car is
coming in the opposite direction, and educating others about not
using their phones while driving and paying attention to the road.