The Importance of Healthy Driving Habits

Trangmoe 3

Dani Trangmoe

DMVedu.org Scholarship

Road Safety Habits

30 November 2019

The Importance of Healthy Driving Habits

When most people imagine what they are most afraid of, they imagine spiders or clowns. Unsafe driving is what we should really be afraid of. Road accidents are the number one cause of death in people aged sixteen to nineteen, and the eighth most common cause of death worldwide. By building healthy driving habits, each and every one of us can help decrease the amount of deaths on the road.

One of the most essential factors in building healthy driving habits is drivers ed. Statistics show that students who went through drivers ed programs are involved in less accidents and receive less driving infractions than drivers who are educated by their parents. This is due to several factors: kids listen better to professionals, driving instructors are trained to provide the best education, and students get more driving experience when they take part in a structured driving education course. Driver’s education also helps to prevent young drivers from developing poor habits before they even get behind the wheel. For all of these reasons, drivers who attended drivers ed classes are less likely to cause road accidents. Because of the obvious correlation between attending drivers ed courses and being a safer driver, making drivers ed mandatory to receive a license would help decrease the amount of deaths on our roads.

Other factors, such as distracted driving, contribute significantly to the number of driving related deaths. Distracted driving is especially prevalent among young drivers. As a high school student, I frequently witnessed students texting and driving. When I was in the car, I always asked them to put away their device. Distracted driving may seem like an innocent habit, but all it takes is one accident to change your own or someone else’s life forever. Apple and other phone companies have added features that reduce the temptation to text while driving, and laws regarding distracted driving have become stricter in recent years. However, the most effective way to combat this issue is something that each and every one of us can do; we can focus on building healthy habits for ourselves and others. When the temptation to pick up the phone comes, we must practice self-control and remind ourselves that nothing that could ever happen on a cell phone is worth risking your life for. We can also remind friends and loved ones to keep the same thing is mind when they have the temptation to text and drive.

Through drivers ed and encouraging those around us to avoid using their phones while driving, each of us can contribute to making the roads a safer place. Both of these activities allow us to build safe driving habits. If every driver on the road dedicates a small fraction of their energy to making sure to be well educated and aware on the road, deaths due to driving will significantly decrease.

Works Cited

DriversEd.com. “The How And Why Of Drivers ed.” The How And Why Of Drivers ed - DriversEd.com, Driversed.com, driversed.com/driving-information/the-driving-privilege/the-how-and-why-of-drivers-education.aspx.

“Teen Driver Car Accident Statistics & Facts.” Edgarsnyder.com, Edgar Snyder, www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/who-was-injured/teen/teen-driving-statistics.html.

“The Top 10 Causes of Death.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 24 May 2018, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death.