Driver Education Initiative – In The Driver’s Seat

In
the Driver’s Seat

Driving,
although a basic and everyday habit of today’s society, is one of
the most dangerous activities people partake in. There are more
distractions than ever before in the driver seat; this including
texting on your phone, adjusting climate control, or adjusting on
screen navigation. Theses distractions can easily be stopped, and
it’s important that we teach today’s student drivers that they
can live without these things for the short time they’ll spend
behind the wheel that day.

There
are many steps that can be taken to make driving safer and help
prevent crash related deaths. First would be strengthening DUI and
DWI laws because about 29% of driving fatalities are from driving
while intoxicated (responsibility.org). There are already distracted
driving laws across the country, but I can’t count the times that
I’ve drove by somebody on their phone. Higher fines for distracted
driving should be implemented, and there needs to be more advertising
for not texting and driving. Another big way to reduce the number of
deaths is by terminating parent taught driving courses. Most kids
skip all the slides and lie on their behind the wheel time logs. I
would suggest bringing back in school driving classes where there is
an actual teacher to relay valuable information on driving to
students.

I
have never been in a car accident myself, but I have experienced some
of my family members driving irresponsibly. My dad texts while
driving, he is somewhat careful about when he does it though. He
makes sure there is no oncoming traffic and that it isn’t dark out.
That isn’t an excuse to text and drive though because dangerous
events can happen anytime when driving that require the full
attention of the driver. The half a second between looking at one’s
phone then unto the road can be the difference between life and
death.

I
myself can be a better driver by driving with both hands on the
wheel, putting my phone away in the console, and not pay attention to
my radio as much. Encouraging others to not do this as well will
greatly change the way teens drive on the road. Hosting a school wide
seminar that supports and demonstrates safe driving would be a great
option for schools. Promoting safe driving in schools is the best way
to reduce the number of deaths from driving per year.

Citations

“Drunk
Driving Fatality Statistics.” Responsibility.org,
www.responsibility.org/alcohol-statistics/drunk-driving-statistics/drunk-driving-fatality-statistics/.