Name: Jeannisa Glover
From: miramar, Florida
Votes: 0
Turning
16 is an important age for many teens as this is the age where we
become licensed drivers. Driving gives us a sense of freedom, the
ability to go wherever we want. In 2017, the state of Florida had
about 402,385 car crashes averaging 1,098 a day. This made Florida
the 3rd state with the most car crashes.
In
Florida order to obtain a license at 16, the teen most first obtain a
learner’s license and pass a written driver’s test. In order to
obtain a learner’s license in the state of Florida you must take
drivers ed either online or in school. Some teens opt out of
this and simply wait until they turn 18 to avoid having to go through
the process. It should be a high school requirement to take driver
education, like how it’s a requirement to take a foreign language,
and an online class. If students were required to take driver’s
education and there wasn’t a way to opt out it would teach students
safe driving habits and proper driving techniques.
Steps
that could be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to
driving, is enforce stricter driving laws when it comes to handheld
devices and texting. A new law that has been enforced in my community
is, you can no longer have your device in your hand in a school zone.
This is a great way to reduce accidents because drivers are going 15
miles an hour in school zone, they easily get distracted because they
aren’t going fast. Often cars might make an abrupt stop to let
students walk and if a car behind them are distracted and not paying
attention they might hit the car in front of them. So, by regulating
that devices may not be in use during school zones cuts down the
chances of an accident. In states such as Georgia they have
eliminated handheld devices while driving all together. This has had
a positive effect as car accident statistics have decreased.
While
I have not been physically affected by a car crash my dad and older
brother were. On the way to pick up my younger brother from school; ,
my dad was driving on a backroad and he was distracted by his phone,
a car backing out of their driveway hit my dad and almost caused his
car to fall into a lake. Fortunately, the car did not fall in the
lake, and my dad and brother only had minor injuries.
Steps
that I can take to become a better driver is download an app where it
sends an automatic message letting people know that I’m driving.
I would also encourage my friends to download the same app. I can
also speak with my county superintendent on making driver’s
education mandatory.
