Survive the Drive

West 2

Ja’Kiya West

22 November 2019

Driver Education Initiative Essay

Survive the Drive

Driver’s education is crucial to our society. Individuals not receiving proper education in regards to driving can lead to unimaginable consequences. There is an average of 3,287 deaths a day and close to 1.25 million deaths a year. Drivers ed provides knowledge, skills, and reinforce positive attitudes needed for the driver and pedestrians. The knowledge obtained from drivers ed helps reduces teen crashes significantly.

One good practice includes defensive driving. Defensive drivers are able to avoid dangers on the road by following safe driving practices. As a safe driver, one should obey traffic laws at all times. If there is an emergency take time to pull over or stop somewhere well illuminated and populated. A driver should always exercise their own judgement when driving. If you do not do so it can lead to fender benders, catastrophic wrecks, or road rage.

For an example, in July 2017, my mother and I were in a turning lane taking a left turn into a Burger King. A gentleman was leaving Taco Bell (located on the right side of us) and had to drive across both lanes and the medium we were in, it hit us directly head on. While in the turning lane the car, that was letting him out told him, he was free to go but my mother and I were still in that lane. The gentleman followed what the driver said, and didn’t use his own judgement due to that he hit our car causing a small wreck. Another example occurred in August 2019. The driver of a company van was on his phone with earbuds in his ear not paying attention. While he was getting over into another lane. He side-swiped my mother’s car. This was very scary since my 2 year old sister was in the car.

The steps that I can take to be a better and safer driver include following the traffic laws, staying focused on the road at all times, learn defensive driving techniques, and only use my phone when I am not on the road. If everyone instilled those simple rules into their daily driving routine the roads would be a lot safer. Also, keeping your music at a decent audible level so that you can hear sirens and trains approaching is a life saving precaution. A positive attitude when interacting with other drivers is a requirement for safe driving. Unfortunately there are reckless drivers on the road and everyone should know how to handle the situations reasonably.