Life is
Highway

By:
Caroline Doskey


Driving
is a rite of passage in a teenager’s life just like going to senior
prom, having one’s first kiss, etc. It’s one of the first signs
of independence in the young adult life, getting to drive yourself
instead of having to ask your parents to ‘embarrassingly’ take
you to social events. But driving is a double-edged sword that must
be handled with caution. Yes, you get to transport yourself and have
the satisfaction of feeling like an adult, yet there is also the
chance you could hurt maneuvering around other high-speed vehicles. 

The
importance of getting a drivers ed is that not only can it
reduce the number of deaths caused by driving, but it also gives you
the confidence of knowing you can drive safely on the road. Like
preparing for a test, one feels more confident in what is in their
testing repertoire if they have thoroughly reviewed the material.
Once you have a strong handle on what it takes to be a ‘safe
driver’, you can share that knowledge with others.

Many
steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving
such as: putting signs on the road advertising it. People do still
pay attention to signs as they need to know which exit to take, so
put up signs advertising safe driving. There can also be more
advertising presence on the many social media platforms today, two of
the biggest being Instagram and Facebook. Millennials are constantly
scrolling through social media multiple times a day, so it’s a
perfect place to advertise safe driving. Other big platforms to
advertise on would be YouTube with their increased ad count, Netflix
and Hulu, and Pandora (free service with ads). Another, more
traditional method, would be to start enforcing the importance of
safe driving before high school, at a younger age. Practice makes
permanent not perfection, so implement at a younger age to make it
stick better. 

I
have fortunately not experienced being in a car accident, but I have
seen my friends and family member driving irresponsibly. Two examples
would be my father and my aunt. My dad tends to drive significantly
over the speed limit which has caused a bad habit in my myself. And
my aunt tends to drive very jerkily, sharply turning the wheel,
making it feel as if she is trying to flip the car.  

The
steps I can take to be a better and safer driver as well as helps
others become safer on the road are leading by example. If I drive
recklessly on the road, other will too to try and avoid getting in an
accident. And if I am driving in the car with a friend and they start
driving unsafely, I can correct my peer’s ‘reckless driving’ to
prevent it in the future. Most of the time we do not know we are
doing something wrong and we just need someone to guide us in a
better and safer direction.