As a high school senior, I hear multiple younger students discussing whether or not they passed their driver’s exam to get their license. A lot of the time, kids complain about how they were a good enough driver, made only a couple of minor mistakes, and should’ve been passed. However, I also know plenty of people who have failed these tests due to major mistakes such as completely running stop signs, pulling out in front of others, and even bumping into mailboxes. While these issues may not be equally compatible with simply forgetting to turn on a blinker, I think it’s incredibly important that driver safety is drilled into childrens’ minds at a younger age. Pushing near perfection on the driver’s license tests is helpful in demonstrating to teens what a simple mistake can lead to. So while these small mistakes don’t seem like such a huge deal, it’s better for the community’s safety as a whole if our teen drivers are expected to drive safely from the second they get to the driver’s seat. Driving can be incredibly dangerous for people both in and outside of the car. It’s important that driving safety is consistently taught and enforced from an early age to prevent any unnecessary danger or loss of life.
Personally, I know some drivers that I don’t necessarily feel comfortable riding with. When they hit 55 miles per hour in a 30, I wonder how in the world they got their license. A huge issue is that teens only drive well enough to pass their driving test. Instead of continuing to enforce safety skills after they pass, they immediately ignore everything they know and choose to get places as quickly as possible. Driver’s education is incredibly important in both teaching new drivers what to do, but also teaching consequences of their actions. In a state driver’s book, there are many important driving rules and regulations. This is the reason the public is able to navigate highways, correctly use traffic signals, and get to and from where they need to go without confusion. However, another extremely important part of education is teaching the public what can happen to them after speeding, drunk driving, or unsafely moving through traffic. Knowing what fees may need to be paid or time may need to be served in prison due to offenses are also crucial in reducing unsafe driving habits. A combination of knowing what to do and why not to do the opposite creates better driving habits and can decrease driving-related injuries and deaths.
To reduce the number of deaths on the road, I believe a huge part is educating the public on how many driving accidents there truly are. I had no idea that 34,000 Americans die each year from accidents. I definitely wouldn’t have thought that more Americans die as a result of car accidents per year than the total number of American soldiers who have died from war in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. When put into perspective like that, it’s a huge number. If the public truly understood how many people were affected by accidents, I think the majority of people would more often practice safe driving habits and overall decrease the number of deaths on the road.
I have had plenty of personal experience where I have ridden with an unsafe driver. Apart from friends choosing to drive insanely fast, running a few stop signs, and just giving me a little scare, I also have witnessed an addiction affect someone’s driving. Consistently riding with an intoxicated driver was an incredibly frightening experience. This irresponsible driver was incredibly influential on me and very strongly showed me how important it is to stay safe on the road. After seeing how badly alcohol can negatively impact a person’s sense of where they are and what they are doing, I know that I will absolutely always refrain from drinking and driving. The personal experience that I have really proved to me the importance of driving safely. I believe that if more people had firsthand experience or even just understood the seriousness of unsafe driving habits, then the amount of accidents on the road would largely decrease.
The first step to being a better and safer driver would be to work harder to follow the general rules of the road. Refraining from speeding, running traffic signals, and just disregarding others on the road can all contribute to a safer driving experience for the entire community. For me, I can definitely work on those skills. For others, I think a large part of decreasing unsafe driving skills is education. New drivers especially need to fully understand the extent of danger for unsafe driving habits and what consequences can stem from them so that they choose to be safe drivers on the road. If the public worked harder to follow traffic laws and we decided to impose more education on the outcomes of unsafe driving, the road would be a much safer place, and the many deaths that happen due to car accidents would decrease.