All Around Me Are Familiar Places

I can’t wait to drive! Those are the words every teenager utters when they are getting their drivers license. However, once they get the license many of them realize that driving is a bigger responsibility than they initially thought. Many of my friends and peers do not know the proper road rules or even how to put wiper fluid in their own car. For these reasons, I believe that drivers ed is the most important thing for teenagers and new drivers to learn when they decide to pursue a driver’s license. Knowing when you have the right of way at a four way stop or how merging lanes work on a highway is the difference between getting into a car collision that could result in fatalities and not. Every single day on my way to or from my high school I saw a car accident on the highway. Cars that were smashed, ripped apart, and people crying on the side of the road plague my memory whenever I recall my car rides home. However, the most vivid thing I remember from driving is seeing all those white painted flower bed graves known as Memorial Markers to commemorate those who lost their lives in vehicle related accidents. Some of these Memorial Markers had victims as young as 16 years old, these victim’s families had just lost their child before they even had the chance to grow up and go to college. These are the incidents that hit me the hardest growing up because I was 16 years old when I saw them. What can be done to reduce or even prevent future car accidents? I believe that there are two significant things that can be implemented to make the roads safer for everyone. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the highest fatalities rates occur in those 16-17 and 80+ years of age. The first proposition involves the creation of better drivers ed courses and tests. The problem with current student driver courses is that they use a timer on the information pages to prevent students from clicking through the course. Instead of the timers encouraging students to read the information, students will look at their phones while waiting for the timer to run out. Creating engaging driving courses that periodically quiz the reader will cause them to retain road law and safety information more effectively. The second proposition is that a uniform policy be implemented across states for the renewal requirements for senior and older drivers because of aging health problems such as failing eyesight. Depending on the state, the renewal requirements for older drivers vary greatly. States like Florida, Arizona, and others implement a set of regulations that require the elderly to pass vision tests regularly each time they renew their driver’s license. With these propositions put into action, I believe that fatality rates will decrease significantly. I want future teenagers to be able to proudly say “I’m glad I can drive!”