Cars are one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment on Earth. A typical car weighs about 4,094 pounds. When that heavy piece of metal and parts goes forty-five miles per hour, it can generate about 309,739 pounds of force. That amount of force can cause devastating damage to whatever it hits, including humans. Every year, about 1.35 million people die on roadways all over the world, and car crashes are the eighth leading cause of death. Automobiles are responsible for taking millions of lives, yet so many still use them carelessly. Since cars play a key role in the country’s culture, Americans have become numb to the deadly potential of these vehicles. Moreover, they become more reckless with how they pilot our vehicles. Instead of being careful with every decision they make, people instead try to use their cellphones while driving or avoid wearing a seat belt. People are forgetting how serious car injuries are. It’s about time we reminded them.
When there is potential for an item to cause serious harm, people become trained on how to eliminate risks associated with that item. This idea is used in multiple facets of life. For example, if a person wants to use a gun, it’s suggested that a person becomes educated on guns and gun safety. This education involves lessons such as treating the gun as if it’s always loaded, not pointing a gun barrel at any person, and keeping the finger off of the trigger unless the person is about to shoot. The same idea applies with my competitive archery. I have to learn all the safety precautions for shooting bows and arrows. These lessons include only nocking an arrow when told and only pointing the bow when it’s the proper time to shoot. These things are learned to prevent myself and others from being harmed. They allow me to play a risky sport in a safe way. Driver education should be done in the same way. Many people believe they don’t need driver’s education because they’ve been surrounded by cars their whole life. What they don’t realize is that spending a life with cars can blind a person to their danger. So, driver education is important in opening people’s minds to the real risks of automobiles. Once people have their minds opened, they will make proper decisions on the road and make driving a safer activity.
With all this talk about driver education, it’s important to state what exactly a person needs to learn. Many skills and abilities should be learned to help make safer driver practices. This safe driving education should include various tips and tricks. For example, people should learn how to maneuver a car when it has no traction. A person should learn how to merge, accelerate, and decelerate in order to avoid any confusion or awkwardness with other drivers on the road. The meaning of road signs is an important part of the driver’s education process. People should learn what to do if they feel sleepy on the road. They can even learn what car lights are best suited for specific situations. All of these skills will help sharpen a driver’s ability to eliminate dangerous situations. Another important skill is to obtain the style of defensive driving. Defensive driving is a style of driving where a person is constantly anticipating potential risky situations. This strategy prepares a person for dangerous occurrences when they happen. Granted, learning an entire new style of driving is not exactly simple. However, as a person learns more about safe driving techniques, defensive driving will simply come to them. By implementing the strategies learned in driver education, a person will gradually become more cautious about potential threats. Even if learning defensive driving isn’t easy, it can be used to save the lives of countless individuals. Besides, nothing is more precious in this world than a human life.
In summary, cars can have a dangerous and devastating effect on people's well-being, but they are not going away soon. Automobiles will continue to play a key role in our society’s structure. People then need to take matters into their own hands. They need to make the effort to educate themselves on how to drive safely. By doing so, they will not only protect their personal interests but the well-being of everyone else around them. If they don’t, roads will continue to be the place where innocent lives are lost all because of lacking education. Let’s not let that happen.