A little light flashed the numbers and letters B19. I had been waiting weeks upon weeks to get a learner's license. However, somehow, every time I’ve tried, something went wrong. The first time, I just didn’t make it to my appointment on time because a train passed by. The second time, my ID was expired… So, the third time is the charm! If not, I would be a passenger princess for the rest of my life. Luckily, everything went incredibly smoothly this time. I got up to the little ATM-looking device and began going through the questions. Not even 2 minutes in, one of the window clerks came over. “HEY, STOP!” she said. I was so confused and honestly, terrified. I was thinking to myself I just started… Did I mess up already? Maybe I am not meant to drive. Turns out, she was talking to the person beside me who was Googling answers during the test. Anyway, in the end, I managed to pass, and I was let loose onto the roads.
People often say that knowledge is power. When driving, an educated driver is a safe driver (or at least safer). If everyone was doing their own thing there would be more accidents. For better or for worse, the reality is, we cannot read each other's minds. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that everyone will be on the same page, but they could be in the same lane which could result in some problems. Rules and regulations exist for a reason. Without them, everyone is free to do whatever they want. Ensuring everyone is the same, and proper driving education ensures that drivers understand and follow traffic laws, ultimately reducing accidents. Additionally, through learning, individuals gain and hone existing skills. Although it may be obvious for you to stay safe, certain precautions aren’t as self-explanatory, such as when you park on a hill you can turn your wheels! It hones your skills as well. Before I learned to drive, I never really paid attention to the street signs and which roads I had to go down. I had no sense of direction. But, once I learned to drive, I now find myself shoulder-checking while in the passenger seat. In general, educated drivers are better equipped to recognize risks and understand the consequences of impaired driving, and therefore, hopefully avoiding risky behaviour.
Many people start driving in their teens, therefore, I think the best way to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is by educating adolescents. With less time on the road and generally less experience, the more thorough the education, the better! I think practice is essential for improving skills, especially for something like driving. Furthermore, drivers need to follow traffic laws without exceptions. Once behind the wheel, be mindful, focus, and remember that you must share the road with everyone around you. When you drive, you’re putting yourself into a giant killing machine. Although most deaths from driving are related to being impaired by substances, there is also a high number correlating to distractions and speeding. I think there are many factors which are distracting. Also, considering most adolescents these days use social media in some form, many people have the attention span of a worm (I am guilty too). Hence, why I believe educating youth on driving is super important. I’ve had people admit to never reading the driving manual and just getting lucky on their written tests. Is that supposed to be reassuring? Although reading isn't the only way for people to learn, I think it’s still important to absorb the vital information one way or another. I think making education more accessible would be beneficial. From my observations, short videos seem to work well.
I always knew I wanted to be able to drive as soon as possible. Driving makes everything so much more accessible, it gives you freedom. However, on January 1, 2022, my parents and I were coming back from a snowboarding trip, and seemingly out of nowhere, some random car spawned and T-boned our vehicle. I was screaming, my mom told me after she thought she had died, and my dad seemed annoyed. My parents have always been very safe drivers, and have never had any issues prior. We were fortunate no one was fatally injured. However, our car's front tire was severely damaged so we wouldn’t be able to get home and my mom suffered a neck injury and concussion. The driver who hit us wasn’t even driving their car. Perhaps that contributed to their inability to make a stop at the wonderfully red stop sign. You would think that is one of the most basic things, but people still manage to overlook it.
I recently got my Novice licence. There’s almost no restriction. Except, there still are, and people manage to break the simplest one to not break, overloading. We aren't allowed to take more than one passenger (except the direct family) without a class 5 driver over the age of 25. There’s got to be a reason why such a rule is in place, but there’s no strict enforcement or consequences, so people constantly get away with minor things like this, and potentially more severe things.
Although we cannot control what other people do, we can make wise decisions for ourselves such as knowing our route, being aware of the road and weather conditions, and leaving enough time. Also, ensure that your mental and physical state is proper for driving such as not having an excess amount of fatigue, anger, or anxiety. If you communicate well with other drivers, such as signalling properly, and leaving good following distance, having good speed control, you will feel much better as well as the people around you. There isn’t much room for mistakes while you’re on the road, so always keep calm and drive on (safely of course).