Name: Bailey Armstrong
From: Verona, Wisconsin
Votes: 0
So
many people dream of driving from a young age, but they aren’t
dreaming of being one of the 30,000 plus people who die in a
motor-vehicle accident every year. More people die in car accidents
every year, than the number of US soldiers killed in the three-year
Korean War, and that isn’t even counting the number of people
non-fatally injured in car accidents. We need to fix these
statistics.
Driver
education is a great place to start reducing the number of people
killed every year. So many teenagers don’t take drivers ed
seriously, they find it a hindrance slowing down their path to
freedom. There are so many different kinds of roadways and
intersections that drivers need to be aware of, that could be
dangerous for people not educated in how they work. We need to start
touting the importance of drivers ed for everyone, children
will pick up this information and realize that you can’t just take
a test and get your license. People need to realize that driving is a
privilege and a great responsibility, not just a way to become
independent.
Care
for pedestrians is a matter of huge importance, one pedestrian is
killed in a car accident every 1.5 hours. Drivers need to be aware
constantly, prepared for the possibility of pedestrians, because they
are doing their best to stay safe, transporting themselves in a way
that should be exponentially safer than driving, yet more than 5,000
pedestrians are killed in car accidents every year.
My
great uncle has been hit by a car while biking 3 times. He is always
lit, reflective, and high-visibility while biking, yet drivers
continue to be unaware of this man dressed like a traffic cone. If
not for fantastic hospital care, he could have been killed by any of
those accidents.
Another
crucial issue that has been beaten into most people from a young age
is the importance of wearing a seat belt. So many people’s lives
are drastically changed when a family member refuses to wear a seat
belt. Seat belts exist to save lives, wear them.
Finally,
it is important to look at the number of vehicles on the road. Every
additional car on the road is another car that could get into an
accident, but how many of those cars need to be there? If we could
reduce the number of cars on the road by using more public
transportation like trains and buses, carpooling, or walking, we
could reduce the number of cars and dangerous drivers on the road
immensely.
Driver
education, care for pedestrians, seat belt usage, and reducing
drivers, can have an immense influence in reducing the number of
people killed every year in car accidents. Driving safety has the
ability to impact so many lives. Make it a positive one.
