Each
year, thousands of people die from car accidents. But they are called
car “accidents” for a reason, there could have been something
done to prevent them. People die every day from car accidents, and
while there is no way to prove this “fact” I can guarantee that
no one in those accidents thought that they were going to die when
they got behind the wheel. The sad truth is that people are still
putting themselves in danger despite all of the warnings and
instructions they receive at a young age. Although I am not the
perfect driver, I can objectively see the actions that lead to
driving deaths, and have some opinions on what can be done to stop
them.
Driver
education is an interesting case in this issue. For most if not all
schools in the United States, a drivers ed course is required
to graduate high school. So everyone is getting the instruction, yet
accidents, whether or not they are fatal, happen every day. What is
the issue then? Driving is easier said than done, especially at the
young age that Americans are learning to drive. When a teenager gets
behind the wheel, everything learned in drivers ed courses goes
out the window. Fear starts to set in, and once the fear is overcome,
confidence takes fear’s place. The confidence does not come from
mastering the book material, it comes from practicing driving over
and over again. The problem is not the content the children are
learning, but when it comes to actually driving, the content is
basically nonexistent. Unfortunately it takes making that first huge
mistake for people to realize how much danger they are in when
driving.

I
believe that there should be stricter punishment for driving
infractions during behind-the-wheel courses and on the road itself.
Thousands of American get “let off the hook” when driving and
that does nothing for the person mentally, as that person will not
change any of their habits if nothing bad happens to them. Lives are
at stake, and one driver can cause a domino effect of lives lost that
could have easily been saved.
I
have been in many minor car accidents, thankfully none causing major
damage to human life. I have also been in a car when the driver is
driving erratically for no reason other than it seems fun or
convenient in the moment. Taking a video of yourself driving or
changing the song is not worth it when so many lives are at stake.
One thing I can do is completely turn my cell phone off when driving.
When a phone is on, all it takes is the push of a button to make the
screen light up. But when it is off, some phones can take a whole
minute to turn on. Cell phones are the leading cause of distracted
driving deaths, so tackling that issue is of utmost importance,
especially with young people.