2023 Driver Education Round 3
Driving Safe Saves Lives
Armando Zavala
Detroit, Michigan
When someone is informed of the rules of the road, such as knowing the meaning of signs, and how an intersection works. Even with smaller rules such as turning your turn signal to the direction you are going to turn and stopping at a stop sign. Each little mistake can cause an accident which is why it is important to follow the same rules as everyone. Think about it, if no one sped when they shouldn’t, if no one ran red lights or top signs, then the number of accidents would dramatically decrease. As well as, the amount of deaths that these accidents take. It’s crazy how someone can save not just one life just by following some rules. When someone takes the wheel they should be educated in driving if not then they should not drive, they are a driving danger.
However, following rules is not the only way to reduce the amount of deaths caused by accidents. When someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs they are not fit to be behind the wheel. They can be visually impaired or not in the right state of mind. When someone is not in the right condition to drive they will have a higher chance of causing an accident which could end the drivers or the others in the accident's lives. Alcohol on its own is one of the biggest causes of accidents. It’s very easy to forget you are drunk when your mind is all over the place. Other ways that cause accidents are being distracted on your phone or being half asleep. Especially in our time when everyone is addicted to their cell phones. Most people can’t handle not looking at their phone screen for a couple of minutes and it is most shown when that person is driving a car. They redirect their focus that is supposed to be on the road to their screen. We should strive to fix these problems so that they do not happen regularly and bring danger to others.
The reason why I want others to drive safer is because I have been in an accident before. Thankfully no one was hurt and I came out with little pain. It was getting dark. It was me and my sister and we were going back home from being at the mall. I was in the front passenger seat. It was a smooth ride until my sister took a left turn in a intersection. All I remember is looking to my right and seeing two cars coming straight at me. Time seemed to stop for a second and I had this hope that the cars would stop however that was not the case. I shut my eyes waiting for the impact to happen. When it did I felt my whole body go in the direction where the impact had happened. I opened my eyes and the whole car was filled with smoke. Thankfully the airbags were there to save us. I was reassuring my sister that everything was okay and to get out of the car. The cold air touched my face and I had no time to be in shock. A person stopped and asked if we were fine and I told him we were and to call the police. After that my father came and we situated everything with the others that were in the accident. It turns out that it was my sister's fault since she did not check for oncoming cars.
This taught me a lesson, always be aware of my surroundings especially when behind the wheel. A simple mistake turned into an accident and caused our car to be towed and unable to be driven again. I myself want to be educated in driving so that I do not cause an accident myself. However, sometimes it is inevitable and you can be dragged into an accident. Others should go to driving school and get their driver's license before driving daily. As well as, watching yourself and knowing when you should drive or not. Driving safely is not only going to help you but the others on the road too.
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