Name: Olivia Kitterman
From: Draper, Utah
Votes: 0
Knowledge
holds power. I believe that education is the key to creating a
knowledgeable society. In the case of driving, knowledge can be
crucial to preventing death. The more educated people are about laws
regarding driving and safety tips, the more a driver is on a lookout.
For instance, after my drivers ed class taught about the
dangers of a railroad crossing, I became much more cautious in those
areas. I was able to take precautions like stopping before the
crossing if the stoplight ahead was red instead of stopping on the
tracks. Without the knowledge I gained in class, I wouldn’t have
known those kinds of things were necessary, and I could’ve died as
a result of ignorance.
The first step to prevent driving
deaths is to bring more awareness to the existence of the problem.
Before I took drivers ed, I didn’t know that deaths
happened often in driving. If more people are aware, people will join
in the effort. The next step is to make sure stoplights are set up in
dangerous intersections. Another is to petition the government to
give more funding to make roads safer.
I
haven’t personally been in a car accident that I can remember, but
I have seen close encounters caused by raucous driving. I’ve seen
drivers looking down at their phones and have watched how it makes
their driving wild. They often don’t notice someone stopped ahead
as quickly as they should have. On top of this, deaths from car
accidents have impacted my life twice. The first was a group of
teenagers from my school who went over a speed bump fast to have fun.
The second was my boss at work who I loved dearly and her daughter my
age who were both killed by a drunk driver. In each instance, it has
been hard for everyone involved. The drivers will have to live with
their actions for the rest of their lives. The families and friends
of those who died will miss them and feel angry and hurt. Those who
died will never be able to grow up and follow the dreams they had
been working toward. And it is all because a driver made a stupid
choice.
I
can work toward preventing these things from happening by never
letting my guard down by forgetting the dangers of driving. As long
as I remember what can happen, I will never be lured into a sense of
false security and careless. I will also choose not to use
distracting devices while driving. I can act as a reminder for my
family and friends as well. When I drive, I will alert my passengers
that I will not drive until everyone is buckled. If another is
driving, I will do my best to remind them in the kindest way that
they shouldn’t be distracted either. I can watch the road while in
the passenger’s seat to serve as an extra eye for the driver.
