Driver Education Initiative – One Wrong Turn

Jessica
Gibson

19
November 2019

One
Wrong Turn

Driver
education is extremely important because it can save many lives that
are unnecessarily lost every year. Reckless and distracted driving,
along with driving while under the influence are some of the major
causes of deadly vehicular accidents. However, weather also often
plays a role. Icy roads during the winter lead to many accidents.

What
can we do to prevent automotive deaths? First, the general population
needs to be more educated on driving. Many teenagers pass their
drivers test and believe that they will never have to apply the
things they learned to real life. This notion is so dangerous. There
are people driving on public roads who believe they do not have to
abide by laws and regulations regarding driving. Schools need to do a
better job of educating students on driving in high school. Many
schools have eliminated drivers ed. This results in a lack of
knowledge and discipline for student drivers. Many parents are not
good at teaching their teenagers how to drive. They usually teach the
bare minimum and hope that they do not die while their child is
driving. The consequences of reckless and distracted driving as well
as driving while under the influence should not be sugar-coated.
Teenagers need to see a realistic picture of how dangerous these
actions are in order to be influenced to be safer drivers.
Additionally, teenagers should face tougher consequences for these
actions. Their licenses should be suspended, and they should be
forced to attend numerous driver safety classes. Teenagers hate
sitting through boring classes, so this should influence them to be
safer on the road.

Teenagers
are not the only problem on the road. Adults are also frequently
responsible for vehicular accidents. Far too many people drink and
drive. People do not realize that they are not only putting
themselves in danger, but also everyone else on the road as well. We
hear and see far too often tragic stories on the news about families
and young people killed by a drunk driver. Would you want to live
with the guilt of severely injuring or killing an innocent family in
exchange for a night of fun?

I
have been present in vehicles with someone under the influence of
alcohol. These situations are frightening, and sometimes out of
someone’s control. A young child cannot ask their parent to pull
over because they have trouble understanding the idea of drunk
driving and its dangers. Parents need to understand that driving
while under the influence, especially while your children are in the
car, can cause lasting trauma. Ignorance is one of the biggest
problems today and can cause lasting consequences that negatively
change peoples’ lives forever.

I
can become a safer driver by being less distracted while driving.
Admittedly, I often get distracted while changing radio stations. The
music can wait, and so can your drink.