2020 Drivers ed Essay Contest Michael Noble 2020 Drivers ed Essay Contest It was like any other Tuesday afternoon. As the school bell rang, class was over, and it was time to go home. I was leaving my high school, it started to rain, which is normal in Louisville. I was so excited to get home and finally relax. I went ahead and got on the highway and headed eastbound where I live. While coming towards an exit, I noticed my neighbor that lives close to me approaching in my rear-view mirror. I didn’t think too much of it, but he was driving fast as if he was wanting to pass me up when we got towards ramp. I slowed down because it’s a steep turn on the ramp, but he continued to speed up and as he did, the worst imaginable scenario happened. He hydroplaned sideways on the ramp, hit my car, caused me to hydroplane, spin out of control, and fall off the ramp. In that exact moment, I thought this was it, I closed my eyes and braced for impact. I opened my eyes to my neighbor opening my door frantically to check to see if I was ok. Thankfully, I was. But my car was totaled. Nevertheless, I would pick my life over my car any day. And this is why drivers ed is extremely important, to reduce injury, accidents, and deaths. When people get in their cars, the only thing they are thinking about is arriving to their next destination and not getting into an accident. Therefore, to avoid accidents, people must be educated or trained almost daily to be reminded about safe driving. Steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths and injuries is to have digital billboards reminding people to buckle their seatbelt, slow down, don’t text and drive, don’t drink and drive, and facts about accidents. Another step is to set your phone to automatically put itself on do not disturb on while driving to limit distractions. In addition, don’t get angry when someone cuts you off, but simply let it go and drive cautiously. If you get angry, emotion will take over and it could cause distractions that could put yourself and others in danger. Be courteous, always check your mirrors, turn that blinker light on, let the other person go first while at the stop sign, slow down at yellow lights, and turn your emergency lights on when it’s raining. Lastly, something that I’ve learned and that I try to teach other people is to keep in mind that they will arrive when they arrive. Speeding literally won’t make a difference. Moreover, a life is more important than a text, so why risk it? I know that I’d like to make it home from driving on any regular Tuesday afternoon.