Name: Catherine Isabella Calma
From: Hillsboro, OR
Votes: 0
Perilous
Privilege
“Well,
I guess we’re going to be stuck here for a while,” sighs my mom
as she glances into the side-view mirror, watching the lineup form
down the street. “There must be an accident blocking the road
ahead,” my dad responds in a matter-of-fact tone. Outside, I hear
raindrops patter as they strike the windshield, sticking there only
briefly before the wipers glide across the windshield, wiping them
away. Time passes. The pattering intensifies. Sheets of rain cloak
the cars around us. BAM!
Suddenly,
our car jolts. I feel my seat belt tighten across my chest as I am
jerked into the side of the car. Then silence.
Each
year, 34,000 people die from automobile accidents; that’s more than
90 people per day. 34,000 is the number of people that should be
inhabiting a small town, not the number of fatalities from an
ever-day activity.
Driving
is inherently dangerous; you are operating a massive metal machine
while travelling at high speeds. However, there are rules put in
place to keep people safe. Starting before
you first get behind the wheel, you should become familiar with these
safety regulations to ensure the safest possible driving experience
for you, your fellow drivers, passengers, and pedestrians alike.
But
why?
Imagine a world without rules. People would be free to completely
ignore the lines, signs, and traffic signals. As you can imagine,
that would be utterly chaotic. For this reason, laws exist to dictate
which side of the road to be on, which lane to travel in, how fast to
drive, etc. Other laws ban certain distractions such as being under
the influence or using your phone. Additionally, some laws require
precautions such as having working brake lights and wearing
seatbelts. These traffic laws or “rules-of-the-road” have been
set to promote safety. However, for these laws to effectively
protect, drivers need to be aware of them.
That’s
where drivers’ education comes in.
Not only does drivers ed bring familiarity to the legality of
safe driving; it also brings awareness to various other safety
precautions. For example, though it’s not illegal to eat while
driving, it can be very distracting and cause you to lose focus on
the road. Even a split-second of shifted attention could be long
enough for you to drift into oncoming traffic or miss a stop sign.
Similarly, it’s not illegal to drive while you are exhausted, but
drowsy driving can cause you to lose focus frequently, which may
result in catastrophic outcomes, including death.
It’s
a fact: driving is a dangerous activity, but it doesn’t have to be
a deadly one. By increasing awareness of laws and potential
distractions, the number of distracted drivers can be reduced.
Reducing the number of distracted drivers will reduce the number of
driving errors made, thus resulting in fewer collisions. Fewer
collisions mean fewer deaths. To summarize, the ultimate consequence
of educating drivers is a reduction in the number of deaths caused by
car accidents.
