Name: Taygen Altenburg
From: Holton, Kansas
Votes: 0
Driver’s Safety
Drivers ed is vital in
reducing the number of deaths due to driving. Each day around 90
people die in a car crash. Being a teenager, one statistic that
really hit my heart was 8,000 people ages 16-20 are killed each year
due to a car crash. Every school needs to introduce a mandatory
drivers safety class that would teach students all the types of
distracted driving, how to stay focused, and how to drive in various
types of weather. While some students go through a driver’s
education program, they do not remember all the information learned
in this class. This is why it needs to be reinforced in their minds
because repetition results in memorization. With more classes on
driver safety, the amount of teenagers that die every year in car
crashes will decrease. This means more memories, more fun, and fewer
funerals. No parent ever wants to receive the phone call that his or
her child was killed in an accident. Therefore, the more we know
about dangerous or distracted driving the better we can combat it. I
am lucky enough to have never been in a car crash, although I have
had multiple close calls. Whether it was driving to fast on icy
roads, or losing control on new gravel, anytime my car is out of my
control I fear of what will happen next. Similarly, I have seen
friends and family driving while using the phone and this is
something I strongly disagree with. I know the consequences of
looking at my phone while driving and I will not take that chance. I
also remind my mom, dad, or friends that I can text for them while
they are driving, so they can stay focused on the road. This is one
way I try to keep my loved ones and myself safe. Another way my
family stays safe on the road is, we remind each other to drive safe
in bad weather and watch for animals, such as deer, if we’re
driving at night. A reminder before leaving the house could save
someone’s life and all families and friends should do this. Along
with reminders to drive safe, people who are out having a night of
fun and decide to have drinks should make sure to have a designated
driver or plan to have a driving service pick them up. Forty percent
of car accidents are due to drunk drivers and this is easily avoided.
If a person knows that their vision, awareness, or decision-making
skills are impaired then all they need to do is pick up their phone
and call for a ride. Removing this 40% of crashes would reduce yearly
car crashes from 40,000 in the United States to 24,000. That means
16,000 more people would get to continue living every year. Safe
driving is not something that should be suggested, it should be
enforced and individuals, schools, and communities should all work to
take action against unsafe driving.
