For most teenagers, the dream is to turn 16, get your license and own a car. But for some reason, having the privilege to operate a motorized vehicle is not as closely monitored. Getting your license today is so simple. It is just as simple as taking a free online course and getting your permit. Then only taking your driver’s test in a little parking lot to finally have your license. When I took my test, that is exactly what I did. I paraded around a little parking lot and right then and there it was determined. I had passed, I worked very hard for that test, and I just had to demonstrate very few things. On the other hand, there are others who don’t practice their driving skills as much. So then, when they receive their license they remain ignorant at times. They could have lived in the same city or town their whole lives, and still need a GPS to get to their house or local job. As a Florida driver, and if you know any Floridians, driving on the turnpike is no simple feat. Everything in life has to move so fast for everyone, including their cars, to just barely keep up. A driver’s education is so important but forgotten. You are handling a piece of heavy machinery that puts not only your life, but other’s lives in your hands. It is like there is a bare minimum set of rules just to receive the privilege to drive.
Change is a word that is perceived as many things. Sometimes it can cause great distress when people have to be forced to do something. A change that needs to happen is to closely monitor the use of phones while driving. That is the number one distraction that at one point or another, anyone with a license has been guilty of. There are many apps and vehicles nowadays with built in GPS systems. In addition to connecting, it with your car to play your favorite music. One step that could be taken is annual driving tests. Surely someone has thought of it before, but the process could ensure that a person is still able to perform safe driving or have the sane mind to. Not every year, but perhaps every 4 years or so. Another action that should be taken is how closely we monitor speeding and the distance taken in between cars. Again, everyone is in a rush all the time. More often than not without reason. The world seems to be in a rush even when intoxicated. Drunk driving is still an epidemic that haunts the world today. To realistically make a change, people can be more avid at making sure they have a designated driver. An obvious one would have to be seatbelts. Of course, we’ve all had our cars scream at us if the driver, or the person in the front passenger’s seat is not wearing their seatbelt. But not so much in the backseat.
Backpacking onto my last point, well over a year ago, a student at my high school got into a grave car accident that left him in a coma. He was not wearing his seatbelt in the backseat. Thankfully, he is fine now and has more than learned his lesson, but our entire town went into a frenzy in honoring and praying for him to get better. To this day his injuries still affect him, and hopefully it won’t hinder him in his ongoing future. Regardless of where you sit in the car, you should always wear a seatbelt because accidents happen. The purpose of the seatbelt is to guarantee that if something were to happen, it is more likely to be an accident than fatal. I have numerous friends who never got taught on how to drive on the turnpike. One time, one of those friends I had she had her license well before me. She had never driven on the turnpike and didn’t even try until one day we were in the car together.
In order for me to become a better driver, I need to be very weary of how my phone is used while driving. Practice not picking it up at all when I drive. In addition to encouraging my friends to not use their phones while not driving. If I need to put in a new location for instance, let the current passenger in my car put it in for me. It also applies vice versa with my friends and family and encouraging them to practice safe driving.