Speed
Thrills but Kills


By:Emma
Myers

The
most exciting part of a teenagers life is being able to get their
license. This is a part of life most people look forward to the
ability to be independent and self sufficient. Driving seems like all
fun and games until a seemingly innocent drive can turn deadly in a
matter of seconds.


Accidents
happen ever day, some teens underestimate the power of a vehicle.
Personally Drivers ed was not good enough for me, it did not provide
me with the confidence or knowledge I needed to be a good driver. I
was constantly anxious about what I would do if I was faced in a life
threatening situation. My parents decided to register me in the Doug
Herbert B.R.A.K.E.S defensive driving course. The founder Doug
Herbert lost his two teenage sons in a car accident after this event
he made it his mission to teach teens and parents about the
importance of safe driving. When I was there we did a handful of
exercises like car
control and recovery exercises that targeted to help teens learn how
to regain control if ever put in an emergency situation. We also
worked with drunk driving goggles and how to avoid hitting objets in
the middle of the road.


After
I completed this course it really opened my eyes to how important it
is to be educated on defensive driving. Not only is defensive driving
a tool that every driver needs to instill confidence and trust in
themselves but it also can save your life. Before entering into this
course I didn’t
really care about the importance of it until I actually participated
in it and realized how this experience changed my life. As teens we
often don’t think about the importance life is, sometimes we're too
caught up living our lives to realize that life is short. I believe
that every teen should be offered this experience because drivers ed
did not teach me the lifelong skills a defensive driving course does.
In my town alone I have lost a handful of people close to me in car
accidents that could have been prevented.


In
conclusion, driving is a very important responsibility, it takes more
than a 2 week drivers ed course to instill the skills we need to be
able to drive on the road. Hopefully in the near future schools can
do a more better job at emphasizing the fact that driving is serious
and could be dangerous but if we are prepared with the skills we need
it could save our lives.