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Driver Education Initiative – Do You Really Want To Answer That?

Name: Nicole Lorenz
From: St Clair Shores, Michigan
Votes: 0

Do
You Really Want To Answer That?

I
remember the day that I heard the event that would forever change my
life. Two years ago, on October 20, 2017, while my former wrestling
coach was riding his motorcycle he was hit by a car who had run a red
light. Come to find out the driver had run that red light because
they were searching for their phone to answer an incoming call. My
wrestling coach had always preached to my teammates and me that now
that we are approaching the ages where you can get a license and
drive a vehicle, we need to be careful. We need to not be attached to
electronic devices while driving and we have to be cautious of the
drivers that can never put down their cell phones while on the road.
My coach always stressed the importance of how I could very easily
take away someone’s life because of the littlest action if I were
not a safe driver. As this man was and always will be someone
inspirational to me, I took his words to heart. Every time that I get
behind the wheel, I think about how he always preached safe driving
and really gave myself and all of my teammates crash courses in
driving education. Drivers ed opened my eyes to how many people
actually die as the results of other people who choose to not follow
the rules and just drive safely. Being able to readily have the
knowledge of the rules for the road and learning how to control a car
increases the likelihood that someone will develop safe driving
habits so that the chances of fatal accidents will greatly decrease.

There
are many ways in which someone could think of to possibly help reduce
the unfortunate idea of someone losing their life to careless
drivers. While there are several steps that could be taken to reduce
the great number of deaths that come from driving each year,
including greater awareness and enforcement of not texting while
driving, the single biggest thing that can be done is to ensure that
every person, who is a licensed driver, is adequately trained on how
to operate a vehicle safely. Second, if people cannot stop using
cellphones in the car while driving voluntarily, then there should be
the technology that inhibits all cell phone functions except being
able to make an emergency call. This needs to become standard. No one
is scientifically able to truly multitask, even though we may think
that we are actually doing. Driving is a skill that cannot and will
not ever be multitasked. Driving already requires the concentration
of your body and your mind.

Personally,
I have been in one super minor car accident, but I have never been in
anything major that requires EMS to be called. Whenever I see car
accidents on the side of the freeway or on the main road, I always
hope that all of the drivers involved did survive. I have however
witnessed family members driving irresponsibly by driving above the
speed limit or texting on their phone when they are supposed to be
paying attention to the road. As I have gotten older, I tend to speak
up and call them out on their behaviors and try to get them to make
smarter decisions to not put theirs, mine, or anyone else’s lives
at risk because of their bad driving habits and behavior.

Steps
that I can take to be a better and safer driver as well as help
others become safer on the road are:

  1. Making
    sure to either completely turn off my cell phone or put it somewhere
    where I won’t be able to reach for it.

  2. Make
    sure to leave space between the rear of someone’s car and the
    front of my car that way if someone suddenly breaks or pulls out in
    front of me then there is a decent distance between myself and the
    driver in front of me.

  3. Do
    not drive when my judgment could potentially be clouded by emotions
    such as sadness and anger.

  4. Follow
    the rule, “If you see something then say something.”

  5. Always
    follow any and all driving laws that are in place