Helping Future Drivers

Alyssa Copeland 6/3/2020 I will never forget the feeling of getting behind the wheel for the first time. Most kids my age could not wait to have that freedom and drive with their friends. But me on the other hand, I never enjoyed driving because I was so nervous about other people on the road. Would they forget to stop at a stop sign or maybe spill something and try to clean it up, leaving their car unattended for a second. But that’s all it takes is a second and that is what scared me the most. But taking drivers ed classes with my other classmates made me feel better about driving because they were helping us learn what to do in those situations. It gave me hope and a piece of mind knowing my classmates were educated on driving safety. But unfortunately, there are still people out there who choose not to follow the safety guidelines or driving rules. One major problem is texting and driving and is the most dangerous among people my age. A good step that can prevent this, would be for parents to get a driving safety feature through their phone provider. This can allow the parents and teenagers to have a conversation about texting and driving and its importance by turning the phone on “Do Not Disturb” when driving. Another step could be educating children on the importance of texting and driving at an earlier age than the driving age. This can help them understand not to do this and also feel comfortable telling people not to do it when they are driving them, for example parents or siblings. While I have never been in an accident my parents and friends have been in very bad car accidents, one from drunk driving and the other from texting and driving. One of the things I took away from that horrible experience was to always stop it when I see it. If my friends go out I always make sure I am sober and can provide them transportation. If they are texting while I am in the car I make sure I tell them that I will help them with their phone so they can pay attention to the road. To better myself as a driver I always turn my phone on “Do Not Disturb” while I am driving and make sure to put my phone in a place where I am not tempted to reach it. I also never go out to bars if I do not have a secure ride home and always have a backup plan in case. I do these things because I never want to see someone I care about die from one text or one drink that I could have prevented. I hope that future drivers take their lives and others lives more seriously and choose to not text and drive or drink and drive.