
Name: Paige Person
From: Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Votes: 0
The
Responsibility Falls in the Driver’s Seat
The
day before prom, my entire senior class was called to the school
auditorium for a presentation. A man and a woman stood on the stage,
the woman noticeably limping and slurring her words. She was Jacy
Good. Good was a passenger in her family’s station wagon after her
graduation from Muhlenberg College when a distracted
eighteen-year-old driver initiated a car crash that changed her life
forever. Both her parents were pronounced on the scene and Good
experienced many broken bones as well as a severe brain injury,
leaving her one side paralyzed. Today, she shares her story with the
public to advocate for safe driving.
Driver’s
education is important because it prevents ignorant drivers from
harming innocent people. If the distracted driver had known that
talking on the phone while driving increases the chance of being in a
crash by twenty-four times, would he still take a call that ended two
lives? If he had known that majority of accidents occur at
intersections, would he have been more cautious? Drivers ed
is a method to inform young drivers about car safety and advocates
work hard to prevent car-related deaths through teaching the public.
Although
I have never personally been in a car accident, there have been
countless times where I have felt unsafe as a passenger. I come from
a long family tree of reckless drivers. My aunt has been in numerous
accidents, my cousin has a suspended license from driving under the
influence, and my grandpa, in his old age, is a harm to others on the
road. I want to stop the trend of unsafe driving both in my family
and in the community.
The
first step to reducing car-related deaths is to make driver’s
education mandatory in order to obtain a license. For example, in my
junior year of high school, I participated in a drivers ed
program where I attended thirty total hours of instruction. My
teacher showed us videos of traumatic accidents that stemmed from
innocent mistakes and shared shocking statistics of the number of
young drivers that end up killed in crashes. This class changed my
perspective of driving entirely. It is not just a privilege for
sixteen-year-olds, but more importantly, a responsibility for two
tons of metal going fifty miles per hour on the highway. It is your
duty to manage risks involved with driving and travel safely for the
sake of yourself and others.
Additionally,
regular testing, perhaps every four years, should be required to
maintain a license. This will ensure that every current driver is
deemed proficient. In my life personally, I struggle with a few
safety hazards in the car, but I pledge to become a safer driver.
Specifically, I will stop listening to the radio while driving and I
will be sure that all my passengers are in agreement with the
predetermined rules in my car before giving them a ride. Overall
drivers ed provides essential knowledge for drivers to be
safe, responsible members of society.