I never took a driver's education class, and I deeply regretted that decision when I started to drive alone. I assumed that the driver's manual and my parent's corrections while driving were enough. My thoughts changed the very first day I was allowed to drive on my own, I didn’t make it out of the driveway that day. I got in the car excited to be able to drive around alone without my parents correcting me, the adrenaline was simply too much. I got in my car, put my seatbelt on, turned the car on, and began to blast music in the car. As I began to reverse I remember the butterflies in my stomach from excitement but the nerves running through my body as I was scared to get lost or get in an accident. But the excitement greatly overpowered the nerves and I turned my head back to check if the road was clear, I went backward slowly, still looking back as I began to turn the wheel inching backward slowly, and carefully. Until the car stopped on its own, I was unsure why and pressed harder on the gas only to finally look forward and see my obstacle. I had hit my dad's brand-new truck next to me on the driveway. You see my parent had taught me to look back and make sure there were no cars as I pulled out, and when to turn my steering wheel, so I had never learned to check every area of the car because they had done it for me. I was lucky enough to have only hit a car, but what If I was further down near the sidewalk and I hit a pedestrian? If I had been enrolled in a driver's education class I'm sure that the proper steps would have been engraved into my head. But they weren’t something so simple as backing out that had never fully been taught to me because I missed essential information from those courses. Essentials like looking all ways before turning the wheel or pulling out of a driveway. What if I didn’t look both ways at a stop and hit the car in front of me causing a major accident, or hit children playing on the street and causing the death of a child? Those courses give the most critical information for driving even if it doesn’t seem like it at that moment, as it can greatly reduce the number of accidents or deaths with someone so simple yet so great, known as knowledge.
Some crucial things that should be done before anyone even puts their key in the ignition would be, putting their phone away from their field of view to reduce the impulse to use it while driving. Even if it feels like sending one small message or looking for that one specific song is innocent, it's not, even the smallest distractions can provoke irreversible outcomes. Another action to prevent causing the death of someone while driving would be to make sure the car is in the best possible condition it can be in terms of having its services up to date. Someone could be the best driver in the world but if their brake pads aren’t working, or they run out of power fluid it could cost someone life.
Another story about myself is I currently go to the University of Colorado Boulder, it's a massive college town where about 90% of the drivers are college students. One thing I have noticed about myself and my fellow peers is the fact that we tend to think that we are the best drivers in the world because we are so young and our reflexes are quick being on our phones while driving is fine because we can respond quickly and accordingly. We can’t there have been countless times when my friend will be texting and driving and the car will start to swerve into the other lane, or they won't see a stop sign and drive past it. But the urge to be connected to our phones at all times makes us blind to the fact that we not only hold our lives liable if we crash but also the lives of fellow drivers around us.
Moreover, I think to be a better driver I am going to start being more aware of my surroundings while driving, maybe turning down the music and having a clear plan as to where I need to go. I think if each person was more aware they could avoid accidents even if they weren’t in the wrong. Simply being aware of your surroundings can cause you to see that car that isn’t slowing down as it comes to the stop sign or the pedestrian who didn’t check both sides of the road as you're about to go. Having a higher sense of awareness can keep you safe and the drivers around you safe as well.