A vehicle is a 3,000-pound death machine on wheels. You must be very careful with what you are doing on the road and pay even closer attention to what other drivers are doing. Taking a driver’s course before you get your license can reduce the number of accidents, and accidents involving death. Driving courses teach you how to hold onto the steering wheel correctly, adjust your mirrors before driving off, learning how to park, not to speed on the roadways, and much more. In my opinion, I feel everyone should be required to take a driver’s education course in order to obtain their licenses. I feel people should do anything and everything to not only make themselves feel safe, but everyone else. You never know what anyone’s driving skills are. Just because someone has been driving for several years, does not make them a professional.

When I took my own drivers test the only things I had to do was back out of a parking spot, parallel park, do a turnabout, and show the instructor what to do when I parked on a hill. The test took place in a small town, so the speed limits are low, but that does not prove I know the safety of driving. I didn’t even drive on the main street of the town. I should have been driving on the expressway, that’s where the real danger is, and you have more opportunities for speeding. There are not enough police to patrol highways or long straight stretches of roads, or to even set up speed traps. People on the roadways have their own responsibilities to make sure everyone feels safe. I also feel cars should have a safety feature that does not let the vehicle go over a specific speed limit. When I was younger, I was coming home late from work so there was very light traffic on the road so I was curious on how fast my car would go. I got the car up to 120MPH before my car’s safety feature kicked in, and my car maxes out at 140MPH. No one should be able to go that fast unless it’s a race car on the racetrack. Those people are professionals, and know how to handle a high-speed vehicle, I on the other hand, do not. If I were to lose control and crash into another car, my car would have been in pieces, or even exploded on impact. I would have died, and most likely killed the other person driving. Yes, I would be found at fault for the accident, but on the other hand, I should have never been able to travel at that speed. I also think there should be mandatory eye exams before getting your license and every few years after obtaining the license. Your sight is extremely important since you are the one behind the wheel controlling the car. Some people have issues with distance, things look further away. My stepdad got into a car accident recently because he was not wearing his glasses for distance. He pulled out of work, onto a main road, and t-boned another car. He thought the car was further away than it was and caused an accident. He and the other driver walked away with no injuries, but it should have never happened. Everyone’s eyesight can change over time, so with eye exams this may cause less accidents. Another way to reduce accidents induced by speeding, is speed limit signs with cameras. Some streets have cameras when someone runs a red light, a picture is taken of the driver and their plate, and then a ticket gets mailed to their house to either pay the fine or make a court appearance. What if we have speed limit signs that did the same? I’ve seen some signs that flash lights when you’re speeding, but that is all. If the signs also had cameras, those tickets (depending on how much you’re going over the speed limit.), could be extremely costly. If you get caught speeding by the police you can be arrested and have your license suspended or revoked for a period. If these signs where to be made, and put into high-speed zones, the number of speeding induced accidents would decrease drastically. One last way accidents can be reduced is by taking a breathalyzer test that’s installed into cars, and the person who drives must pass in order to start the car. If this were to be in every car, no one would be able to drink and drive. I’ve heard “I’m a better driver when I’m drunk”, which is never the case. When drunk, you’re severely impaired, your motor functions are lowered, and your reaction time is impaired, you also swerve on the road because your vision unbalanced. Have you ever worn drunk googles in class and tried to walk a straight line? It’s extremely difficult to walk correctly, yet alone get behind the wheel and drive. If this where to be mandatory in every car, my biological father would have not been able to drive his truck into a tree, which later caught fire.

Many years ago, I was going through some pictures my mom had and found a picture of burnt up truck with my dad standing next to it. I asked what happened and she said, my dad was highly intoxicated, got behind the wheel, and drove straight into a tree. His truck caught fire and got completely burnt, with no way to repair the damage. The front of the vehicle was completely obliterated, and it had turned his black truck gray. He was very lucky he had only minor injuries and didn’t injure someone else in the process. If he had, he more than likely would have killed the other person because of how fast he was going, but that didn’t stop him from drowning himself in the whiskey bottle. He has gotten into multiple car accidents and has gotten multiple DUI’s. The bottle became more important than me, and my younger brother. He would drive with me, and my brother in his car seat. I remember he almost hit a parked car on the side of the street. I had to yell at him to pay attention and he swerved to miss the car. I was 8 when this occurred. If he had a breathalyzer in his car, he would have never been able to drive the car and potentially hurting me or my baby brother in the process. He should have had his license revoked, but in my opinion, that would have never stopped him, since he still had the car. I have never known the sober dad, only the drunk, angry, aggressive one. The way alcohol changes a person’s personality and actions is appalling. So, imagine someone with those traits when they’re behind the wheel of a car, its terrifying. So, my childhood experiences, I will never drive under the influence, or let someone I know has been drinking drive me. I will always have a sober driver or call an Uber to take me home.

There are so many steps a person can take to ensure safety on the roads. Whether it be the speed limit signs installed with a camera, the red-light cameras, or the breathalyzer in a car, or just slowing down on the roadways. Everyone is aware of how fast they drive on the road or swerving in and out of traffic to get to their destination quicker. If you just take the time to do some self-reflection before getting onto the road, you can save your own life, and someone else’s. Don’t take your life for granted, the ones you love are waiting for your safe return anytime you go somewhere. Do not make the people you love plan your funeral or make someone else’s loved ones plan theirs.