Throughout my life, I have seen quite a few driving accidents or situations that could have been avoided with proper, safe driving behaviors and techniques. One of my earliest memories is a car crash that my family and I had been a part of. (Everyone is perfectly fine, by the way, thank the Lord.) In this essay, I want to go over the importance of proper driver's education, give some advice and tidbits on how to be a better driver and limit possible car-related accidents, and mention a few stories along the way, because who doesn’t love a good story?
Regarding the importance of proper education when it comes to driving, it should be obvious that it is a requirement; everyone should go through it. Why? Even self-taught drivers don’t know everything. Going through the proper educational requirements ensures that not only will you know how to drive to keep yourself safe, but you will also know how to keep others safe and make yourself less of a hazard. Getting an education will teach you how to obey the laws of the road and give you proper guided experience on how one should safely and calmly drive, with the safeguard of having the instructor hitting the brake or redirecting the vehicle when necessary. It also allows you to practice situations that might not be common, such as parallel parking or how to drive through heavy traffic on a highway or in a city setting. We often forget we are piloting giant slabs of metal and machinery capable of going at high speeds to get us from point A to point B. This lack of caution often leads us to be careless, which can lead to the driver’s harm or, worse, someone else’s.
It is this carelessness that harms others, as often drivers think that because they know how to drive, they’re fine and that they can drive however they want with no consequences. I remember one time my Dad had picked up my sibling and I, and as my Dad and I were talking, we were casually driving down the street. However, as we were driving, someone in the parking lot of a grocery store we were getting ready to pass by, instead of waiting (since we were close to the grocery store entrance, about to pass by it), this driver shoots out of the parking lot! My Dad hit the breaks as hard as he could, narrowly avoiding a collision with this reckless driver, before she flipped us off and drove away, as though it was our fault, even though my Dad’s eyes were on the road the whole time. So, there we were, completely stopped in the middle of the road, and little ole me with a mini heart attack. The moral of the story is that you are not the only one driving, so don’t act like it. Every time someone gets on the road, they run the possibility and risk of harming another driver or a bystander. A driver should not act hastily or selfishly when it comes to driving, else as I’ve stated multiple times, they will pay the consequences, because an accident may lead to a death.
Some tidbits of advice to drivers, new and old, would be not to fight off sleep while driving, not to be distracted while driving, and to remember what you learned. The first tidbit is rather personal because one of my earliest memories as a child was when we had gone to pick up family members hours away from us. Now, the trip was extremely long and tiring for everyone, and unfortunately, it was also for my Dad at the wheel. I remember being asleep before feeling a rumbling in the dream itself, then waking up to find that the car was tailing up in a ditch. We were all facing down and all that kept us from falling completely forward was our seatbelt. (Another itty-bitty tidbit: WEAR YOUR SEATBELT; THEY SAVE LIVES.) Thank God we crashed in the property of some locals who rescued us out of the crash from the rear of the vehicle. Those who were injured were brought to a nearby hospital, and while there were some injuries, I am grateful to say everyone involved is alive and well today. My family was blessed, but I tell the reader to learn from this experience and park your car to rest. Do not try to tough out the rest of the journey; stop driving and rest. I know this is extremely important to learn because my Dad, visiting us years later, was on another long trip, and both he and the passenger fell asleep at the wheel again. Had it not been that something told him to wake up at the last moment, he could have narrowly dodged the guardrail. Again, they were blessed because what could have happened would probably look like what happened to the trailer he was bringing up, nothing but shrapnel and crushed up wreckage was left of it. Please do not drive while tired; it is dangerous, and the worst part is that it happens gradually, so a driver will not fully realize that they are dozing off at the moment, and their reaction time will suffer greatly.
The second piece of advice is don’t drive while distracted, especially if it’s because of a phone. Your attention not being on the road means your eyes aren’t on the road, and even with peripheral vision, your reaction will greatly suffer. No, it does not matter if it is on one of those dashboard things, your attention is still off of the road. Another story: my family went to pick up my Dad once, and my Mother, who was driving, started to look at her phone. I was in the passenger seat when I looked up to see two moose laying in the middle of the road. I was shocked, and in my shock, I forgot what moose were called. As I was stuttering, I proceeded to say the first thing that came to mind, which was similar to a moose. “DEER! DEER! DEEEEEEER!” My mother looked up, wondering what I was shouting about, only to finally see the very quickly approaching moose we were about to hit before she hit the brakes. She stopped in time, and our crew and the moose were left unharmed. Don’t drive, folks, or you might drive into a moose. I wish that was a joke, but that is an all-too-plausible possibility.
Lastly, please, please, please, please, remember what you were taught in Drivers Ed. There have been many times I, as a driver, have been put into situations that push me as a driver. If I were to give into stress or overly defensive driving behaviors, I would probably cause a crash, but because of what I’ve been taught, I know that I need to keep control of the vehicle, be patient, watch my surroundings, and keep calm and drive on. Last story, I promise: I went to take my siblings to Subway, and it was very windy. Where I live, there is a great clearing, and we get a lot of snow, so when it gets windy, this road becomes dangerous. The road was very slippery there as well, and I was going close to the speed limit (50). Now people were starting to brake in front of me, and I was still going at a steady pace, so I started to try and slow down. Then my wheels started to semi-fishtail. I was now faced with the predicament of someone I was gaining on, and possibly going out of control, with a group of people in my vehicle. Doing as I was taught, I kept control of the wheel and semi-hit the brake just enough to slow me down while allowing my car to gain traction again. The vehicle in front of me ends up pulling aside, and I can safely drive around it and continue at a proper pace. It turns out, though, that the reason people were oddly slowing down was because a vehicle had driven off the road into the snow. (Everyone was fine.) On the way back, another vehicle had also done the same. I was both grateful for the knowledge I was given and humbled to properly dive on the roads in such conditions for the future.
These are some of the reasons that anyone should receive the proper education to drive any vehicle, and advice to hopefully avoid a situation that might cause a horrible accident. A lot of these stories, my family has been blessed and saved, however, others may not have that chance, nor should they take that chance. You won’t truly know what will happen out on the road one day, and as they always say, it's better to be prepared than sorry. I write this to any drivers that may be listening, don’t be paranoid, just keep prepared, and drive safely. Thank you for your time, and your consideration.