In the state that I live in, “there are more than 125,000 motor vehicle crashes …annually”. That is one state out of the fifty within the country. Way too many people die every year from car crashes. As an Arizona driver myself, I can say that the driver’s test at the DMV is not strict enough. My older sister went through a driving school training program that taught her so many things about how to be the best driver she possibly can. Her test was not easy and she didn’t pass on the first try. I, on the other hand, had a harder time finding a driver’s training program that would accept me because of my physical disability. My dad would take me out to practice and he taught me what he could, but at the end of the day he was not a professional. There were certain things that I ended up having to learn the hard way because my parents don’t know as much as a professional driving instructor would have. I can admit that the first few months of me having my license and being out on the road were not pretty. I was terrible. I, luckily, never caused any crashes, but that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t a danger to other people on the road. My older sister was one of the best driver’s I had ever been in a car with. She taught me what she learned through her driver’s education classes and that was what helped me improve my driving skills.
I am someone who has seen firsthand what the benefits of taking a driver’s education course can be. I was scared of my own driving and I know others were too. Driver’s who are nor fully confident in their ability to drive, should not be on the road. It is okay to get a little nervous in certain situations, but if you do not feel confident that you can drive safely then it might be smart to reconsider if you are ready or not. However, being overconfident can harm people just as much. I find that driver’s who are overconfident tend to be the ones who do not pay much attention when driving. Things like phones cause so many people to drive distracted. In 2023, it was reported that, “approximately 1.6 million crashes are caused annually by drivers using cell phones and texting”. It can be tempting to look down at your phone when you hear a notification, but it is important to not give in to that temptation. Having that kind of self control can easily save the lives of many innocent people.
Another major cause of car accidents is drunk driving. Before I moved to Arizona, I lived in Las Vegas, Nevada. Anyone who is from Las Vegas can tell you that car accidents are, sadly, very common. I, personally, have been in an uncountable amount of car accidents throughout my life. Luckily, most of the accidents I have been in have been very minor and no injuries were caused. However, there is one accident in particular that caused a huge amount of pain to me and my family. My grandparents wanted to take my family to a new restaurant that had opened up nearby. I decided to ride in the car with my grandparents and the rest of my family rode together in my mom’s car. My grandfather was the one driving, my grandmother was in the passenger’s seat and I sat in the back behind the passenger’s seat. We were stopped at the red light when it turned green. My grandfather began to press on the gas when a car coming from the right side of the intersection came towards us at full speed. Within an instant, the car crashed into us on the passenger side of our vehicle.
There isn’t much of this that I remember, but I do remember hearing my nana hit her head on the side of the car door and my papa frantically asking if we were okay. The ambulance came and had to drag the driver of the other vehicle out of his car. We were rushed to the emergency room when they informed us that the man that had crashed into us was drunk. The only injury I had was a seat belt rash across my chest, but my nana was in much worse of a condition. She had suffered severe whiplash, was hit by the airbag, and had a gash on the top of her head. The whip lash and the force from the airbag had caused her to not be able to walk without crutches. It could have been way worse than it was, but because that man decided to get into his vehicle while intoxicated, our night had been completely ruined.
Because I have experienced so many car crashes, I do my best now to be the best driver I possibly can be. I never go on my phone while driving and I try as hard as I can to not drive distracted. As mentioned before, I haven't always been the best driver in the world, but having my sister there to give me feedback and kindly suggest things that might help me improve was what changed my driving skills around completely. I think it is important to give constructive criticism especially when it comes to something as serious as driving. You do not have to be a perfect driver, but as long as you are doing everything you can to keep yourself and others safe while on the road, then you are doing the right thing!