Name: Bettina Erika Santos Henares
From: West Lafayette, IN
Votes: 0
An
Experience That You Don’t Want To Experience
In
this generation, teens have more things to do during their free time
than the generations that came before them, and even if one person is
already in the workforce, there is more to do as soon as the shift is
over. When it comes to driving, there are some limitations when it
comes to purchasing an education in driving yet somehow, it’s still
necessary to have in order to stay safe. Unlike most activities,
there is little to no room for mistakes because those mistakes can
have large consequences. According to a study conducted in 2015 by
the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, drivers who have not completed a
drivers ed are 75% more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24%
more likely to be involved in a major or minor accident, and 16% more
likely to have an accident than those who have. Anyone who takes the
time to research these statistics would most likely form the opinion
of drivers ed being necessary to keep everyone safe on the
road.
Whether
or not one would take drivers ed or not, it’s wise to set
restrictions in order to guarantee the safety of every teen driver on
the road. Most fatal accidents occur at night where there is a
limited amount of light, and the key to the problem is to not drive
at all. Most state laws restrict teens from driving during a certain
period at night, unless a parent, a guardian, or a licensed driver
over 21 is present. Passenger restrictions can also be set because
each passenger increases the risk of car accidents by 48%, according
to the International Institute for Highway Safety. The National
Safety Council also recommends anyone under the age of 18 to not have
any passengers outside of the family accompanying them. Alcohol and
cell phone use are advised to be prohibited while driving because not
only they can be the cause of why a driver would get arrested or be
given a ticket but it can also risk the safety of other people on the
road who care about what happens on the road. Then there is the most
important law of keeping your seat belt on because it reduces the
chances of crash injuries greatly. In order to remember to keep it
on, wear it as soon as you get in the car.
I
remember that during my childhood, there was a time where my
grandmother crashed into a guardhouse at a village entrance on the
way to drop me off at school near my hometown. Thankfully, the guard
on-duty was injured, yet the cause of that was because she did not
get enough sleep, therefore is not alert enough to make last-minute
turns that could help avoid the situation. She ended up having to pay
the hospital bills of the guard and she is also banned from
delivering her baked good to houses, leaving it to my grandpa to do
it. I also regularly see my parents driving while using their phones
at the same time, checking their emails and text messages to see if
there is anything important they need to know about as soon as
possible. In those instances, I took it upon myself to be their eyes
just in case there is a chance where we might end up in a car crash.
As a trainee driver myself, I’m too anxious to even think about
using my phone while driving, because that means certain death.
I
still only have my driver’s permit, yet it’s never too early for
those like me to start keeping up good driving habits. As a passenger
inside a friend’s car, it’s impolite to have a cellphone out
while they are driving because not only they only have a few months
to a few years experience of driving, whatever the passenger does can
tempt a driver to do the same thing. I can also educate others on the
consequences of distracted driving and driving under the influence of
alcohol because they are things that teens especially won’t
regularly research about because the thought that runs through their
head is that they only want to get their license so they can have
increased freedom over going anywhere they want to go to. Lastly, if
anyone doesn’t want to drive at all and they aren’t in too much
of a hurry, it’s advisable to walk to the destination or take
public transportation. Not only the weight of getting involved in a
car crash is lifted but it also comes down to the driver (if taking
public transportation) to make sure every passenger is safe because
the most important thing to take note of on the road is to stay safe.
