Name: Jenna Van Heeswyk
From: Strathroy, Ontario
Votes: 0
The
Importance of Smart Drivers
By:
Jenna Van Heeswyk
We’ve all been
there, sitting in class listening to the teacher talk about the
homework over the weekend, or an upcoming test. Then you hear it,
“Please excuse students to the gymnasium for the MADD
presentation”. This presentation was the same every year, real life
stories with a short fictional film. We all know the side effects of
drunk driving, but along with that there are many other types of
irresponsible driving and ways to avoid it.
Some kids didn’t
pay attention, and some had to leave for personal reasons. The truth
is everyone handles things differently. But that doesn’t mean some
shouldn’t be educated on it because they are sensitive or already
know the effects. The importance of drivers being educated is
extremely important. Think of it like this, you go into a doctor’s
office and what do you see? Degrees and all their Education, right?
And I’m guessing that makes you feel pretty good too. Well that’s
the same thing with driving. You wouldn’t want a doctor who didn’t
do very well in school or one who didn’t pay attention a lot. I
believe all drivers should be educated before they get the privilege
of driving.
I, myself, am a
17-year-old girl with my G2. And while taking Drivers Ed I learned
many things and formed an opinion on some of the material and rules.
My teacher brought up two interesting points on how to make driving
safer. The first being mandatory education. What I mean by this is
that schools should require students to take a Drivers Ed course.
Now as much as I agree with the importance of other subjects, this
one should take some higher consideration when laying out the
requirements for graduation. But what about Employment? While the
Drivers Ed teachers can still teach it but this time in a
classroom. The more people are aware of the rules and familiar with
the subject, the smarter they will be on the roads. Furthermore, it
can be combined with Careers class because although getting a job is
important, so is staying alive.
Another way to
help with the reduced number of deaths on road is a zero-tolerance
policy for alcohol. As my teacher had informed me as a G class driver
you are allowed no more than 0.05% of alcohol in your system. I
believe that is unacceptable. People can agree that everyone handles
alcohol differently. My point to this is that some people are fine
with that much where others may start to lose control. I think the
maximum amount should be zero across the board. Alcohol is a
privilege, not a right. Think about it like this. If you are playing
soccer and you just can’t seem to get the ball, so you decide to
pick it up with your hands. Well we all know that is not allowed and
would be given a penalty for your actions. You cannot just bend the
rules or take advantage of the game, like some people do with alcohol
and driving.
Although it is
sad to say, most people can think of someone who has been affected by
bad drivers. Luckily, the crash was not that bad otherwise my
parents, as well my whole family wouldn’t be here today. My mom and
Dad were out of high school and my dad was driving my mom back to her
residence at University. While they were turning left during a yellow
light because they had to clear the intersection, but another lady
did not have that mindset. Instead she decided to race that yellow
light and ended up running a red and running into my mom’s
passenger seat. My parents luckily were okay, but the lady was not
concerned with that. Instead, she instantly went to defence mode and
started to blame my parents for it. They had a rough time with it but
walked away okay. Moral of the story; this incident could have been
easily avoided but unfortunately due to irresponsibility, my mom now
hates turning left in London.
As an older sister and role model I have a big weight on my
shoulders. For me it is very important to set good goals for my
siblings and be sure to set good examples as well. Not only to my
siblings, but everyone I ride with. I can continue to remind my mom
about her blinker even if she hears it very often and gets tired of
hearing it, it could save a life. I can show my patience and
responsibility by always driving the speed limit, even when I’m
late for work. And I can help my younger brother who is learning to
drive about all the things you don’t think about like turning off
your bights when close to someone, checking your blind spots and
doing a quick check of the vehicle before taking it on the road. By
keeping up with my good habits around others, they will soon turn
into habits I myself don’t even have to think about and that will
make me one more safe driver out there.
As you can tell,
safe drivers are important and without them, well that’s a scary
thought. I don’t think this issue can be changed overnight or by
one person. I think by exposing it to every high school student we
can make the roads a lot safer. I hope that once I have kids of my
own, they will never have to hear about a car crash on the news or
from a friend. I believe this is an issue that can be avoided, and
everyone should be gearing towards.
