Preston
Howard
10-22-2019


Driver
Education Initiative Scholarship Essay

It is important to drive safely because it can save your life, help
avoid hefty fines or imprisonment for traffic violations and keep
your insurance premiums lower. In some states, a person who incurs
too many drinking violations can be pilloried with a
different-colored license plate. Safe driving means obeying the speed
limit and traffic laws, not driving too closely to the car directly
in front, driving slower during rain and inclement weather, and
avoiding alcoholic beverages and certain medications before hitting
the road. All of these safe practices can decrease your odds of being
in an accident. Safe
driving can entail off-road precautionary measures such as making
sure tires are properly inflated, testing windshield wipers, getting
regular oils changes and tune-ups and adjusting the mirrors. All of
these actions can help prevent an accident. There
are more drivers on the road every year. Traffic can become extremely
congested at times. It is important for one to stay focused on
driving and not become distracted by texting, talking on the cell
phone or changing the radio station. Between 2000 and 2005, about
42,000 people died each year on roads and highways in the United
States. Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death among
teenagers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Safe driving is important enough for some states to
consider raising the driving age to 17, 18 or 19.

I also have some personal
experience with people not driving safely. My mother was hit and
killed by a drunk driver. Most people do not know what that kind of
loss feels like, and I’m sure that they would never want to have to
suffer that kind of loss. This had led me to not drink at all. If
that can influence me not to drink, then hopefully it can influence
teenagers in the United States to drive safely.