In
the Driver’s Seat
Looking
out of the car window, I saw upside down trees. My mom had a big
white pillow in her face, her hair floating up. One moment we were
driving, then the next we were wheels up on the road.
This
was my experience of a car accident that happened when I was six
years old. I do not remember much, but it scarred me for years. I
still sometimes stare in disappointment as I see my mother talking or
typing in something on her phone while driving. How many accidents
will it take for someone to learn how dangerous it is? How big of a
catastrophe does it have to be?
People’s
inability to give their full attention to the road is aggravating to
me. Not only are they risking their lives, but they have the
potential to destroy the lives of everyone around them. Because of
this, I made it a priority to become a safe driver and prevent
possible accidents on the road.
The
first step to becoming a safe driver is attending a safety driving
school. I feel as though people should be mandated to have at least
one driving session with a professional before obtaining a license.
This will teach future drivers the basic rules of the road and a few
skills to make driving safer. Drivers ed is extremely important
not only in reducing the number of deaths, but also the number of
accidents and injuries associated with driving. If people do not go
to driving school, they will not develop driver knowledge that could
potentially save their lives, such as the meaning of the symbols on a
car’s dashboard. Most importantly, they will not understand the
drastic effects that alcohol and drug consumption has on their
ability to operate a motorized vehicle. A family member of mine got
incarcerated for three months because of drunk driving. I saw how
this affected their relationship with their family and friends. I was
very disappointed in them not only for putting their lives at risk,
but having a much higher risk of killing others. I vowed to never
take a sip of alcohol before driving after being exposed to this.
Obviously
drivers ed is important, but it will be very hard to mandate it
for everyone above the age of 18. One way to make safety driving
classes more appealing is to make incentives for people to get the
safety drivers ed. There could be a more hefty insurance
deduction to those who participate in the programs. Insurance
companies will not lose money since they will not need to deal with
as many accidents and give out money. It will differ from state to
state, but I feel as though having this option would make people want
to get a complete drivers ed.

As
the population increases, there will be more drivers out in the
world. In order to make the roads safer, drivers ed needs to be
implemented as an important aspect of our lives.