Going Beyond Drivers’ Education
While I have not personally been in a car accident, I have many ties to people who have been in and witnessed the aftermath of horrific car accidents. While my mother was in high school, she was in a car accident that threatened her life and put her in the hospital, and my father works as a detective that investigates vehicular fatalities in the city of Fresno. As a result of my mother’s accident and my father’s career, I know all too well how catastrophic car accidents can be, especially when they result in the deaths of the driver, passengers, or pedestrians. This causes me to be a cautious driver, sometimes at the expense of taking the fastest route from Point A to Point B or driving like other people my age. It also pushes me to be someone who takes operating a vehicle seriously, so that I am not the next case my father investigates. Although I try to be the best driver I can be, by avoiding distractions, never driving under the influence or fatigued, and controlling my emotions while I am behind the wheel, the answer to better and safer driving is a complex one because my safety is not only affected by my driving, it is also affected by the driving of the hundreds of people I share the road with every day. This makes proper drivers’ education a necessary first step to preventing deaths as a result of driving.
Drivers’ education is an essential step in preventing vehicular fatalities because it teaches new drivers the laws of the road before they are given their license or permit, so when they are learning how to drive, they are doing just that; instead of also trying to memorize the rules of the road, they can put them into practice during drivers’ training. It also gives experienced drivers a refresher on old laws and introduces them to new laws like ones regarding the use of technology or hand-held devices while driving. With this said, I believe that drivers’ education is important, but I do not think it should be the only step taken to ensure that drivers are up-to-date on new laws and regulations or that they are safe drivers.
In addition to drivers’ education, I believe that every two years, every citizen with a valid drivers’ license should take an exam on the laws of the road to remain knowledgeable and informed and a government mandated course that describes the effects of common acts like using a hand-held device while driving or driving under the influence. I believe that this measure, along with the measures already in place to ensure driver safety will not only create a generation of more educated drivers but also cause people to understand that when they sit behind the wheel, they are operating a weapon, and should do so cautiously.