The Importance of Safety While Driving

Driver education is important because it can help people avoid being in crashes if they pay attention to road signs. I see a lot of videos of drivers who drive too close to the car in front of them— especially in severe weather conditions— and a lot of videos of drivers who are on their phones while driving. Additionally, I’ve noticed a lot of people driving either way too slow or way too fast— not many people seem to know the speed limit or know how to follow it. Driver education can help cut down on these things with basic education. Teaching people to count three mississippi’s from the car in front of them can cut down on tailgating; I think a lot of people don’t realize how close they are to other cars, especially while on the highway. Telling people that if there are severe weather conditions, you don’t have to go the speed limit or more and you should back off even more from the car in front of you can do wonders for people too. A lot of accidents could be avoided with just the above. 

One huge step to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is to ban phones from being in the eyesight of the driver. So many deaths are caused because someone looked down at their phone for one second and didn’t see another car. By banning phones from being in eyesight, it will either force people to put them away while driving or get tickets if a cop sees them with their phones. Hopefully the ticket will help people understand that they shouldn’t have it out before something terrible happens, and they live with a guilty conscience if they kill someone while behind the wheel because they were looking at their phone instead of the road. Additionally, I have noticed people who scroll on their phones while sitting at a light and are so fully engrossed in their phones they don’t notice the people around them nor do they notice when the light turns green; they typically move when they see others moving and move before realizing that their light is still red. Removing the phones from being in people’s eyesight could prevent both of these situations from happening as much as they do. 

I have been in a car accident before. When I was in eighth grade, my mom, brother, and I were running late to an appointment. We were trying to make a left out of our street, but there was a lot of traffic that day. A car coming at us from the left put their signal on to turn and my mom didn’t see anyone coming from the right so we turned. None of us saw the car behind the car turning that slammed into us and t-boned the drivers side of my mom’s car. Nobody was seriously hurt— just a couple of bruises— but it was terrifying to experience at 13 years old. Once I started driving, I never make a turn if someone’s turning onto my street because I’m terrified of not seeing a car like we didn’t the first time. I’ve also ensured that I never leave my house late for anything so that I can never rush out of the house and miss a car. 

I would say I’m a fairly safe driver already. When I need my GPS, I listen for the direction and the street name instead of looking down at my phone screen or the screen on the car. I try to stay within five miles of the speed limit, always turn on my signal, and I always keep my distance from other cars. Something I can do to help others become safer on the road is to talk to them about road safety. If I ride in the car while they’re driving, I can also mention things that they are doing well or things that they need to be more careful of while they’re driving so that they can avoid accidents. For example, my brother can be scary to drive with— he doesn’t slow down enough at corners, he speeds, and he jerks the car while driving. I have told him before that I don’t like the way he drives because he is being reckless and he could get into an accident if he continues. I’ve told him he just needs to slow down in general because that will help him be a safe driver. Being a safe driver is incredibly important to maintain a safe road and to save lives while driving. 

Driver education is important because it can help people avoid being in crashes if they pay attention to road signs. I see a lot of videos of drivers who drive too close to the car in front of them— especially in severe weather conditions— and a lot of videos of drivers who are on their phones while driving. Additionally, I’ve noticed a lot of people driving either way too slow or way too fast— not many people seem to know the speed limit or know how to follow it. Driver education can help cut down on these things with basic education. Teaching people to count three mississippi’s from the car in front of them can cut down on tailgating; I think a lot of people don’t realize how close they are to other cars, especially while on the highway. Telling people that if there are severe weather conditions, you don’t have to go the speed limit or more and you should back off even more from the car in front of you can do wonders for people too. A lot of accidents could be avoided with just the above. 

One huge step to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is to ban phones from being in the eyesight of the driver. So many deaths are caused because someone looked down at their phone for one second and didn’t see another car. By banning phones from being in eyesight, it will either force people to put them away while driving or get tickets if a cop sees them with their phones. Hopefully the ticket will help people understand that they shouldn’t have it out before something terrible happens, and they live with a guilty conscience if they kill someone while behind the wheel because they were looking at their phone instead of the road. Additionally, I have noticed people who scroll on their phones while sitting at a light and are so fully engrossed in their phones they don’t notice the people around them nor do they notice when the light turns green; they typically move when they see others moving and move before realizing that their light is still red. Removing the phones from being in people’s eyesight could prevent both of these situations from happening as much as they do. 

I have been in a car accident before. When I was in eighth grade, my mom, brother, and I were running late to an appointment. We were trying to make a left out of our street, but there was a lot of traffic that day. A car coming at us from the left put their signal on to turn and my mom didn’t see anyone coming from the right so we turned. None of us saw the car behind the car turning that slammed into us and t-boned the drivers side of my mom’s car. Nobody was seriously hurt— just a couple of bruises— but it was terrifying to experience at 13 years old. Once I started driving, I never make a turn if someone’s turning onto my street because I’m terrified of not seeing a car like we didn’t the first time. I’ve also ensured that I never leave my house late for anything so that I can never rush out of the house and miss a car. 

I would say I’m a fairly safe driver already. When I need my GPS, I listen for the direction and the street name instead of looking down at my phone screen or the screen on the car. I try to stay within five miles of the speed limit, always turn on my signal, and I always keep my distance from other cars. Something I can do to help others become safer on the road is to talk to them about road safety. If I ride in the car while they’re driving, I can also mention things that they are doing well or things that they need to be more careful of while they’re driving so that they can avoid accidents. For example, my brother can be scary to drive with— he doesn’t slow down enough at corners, he speeds, and he jerks the car while driving. I have told him before that I don’t like the way he drives because he is being reckless and he could get into an accident if he continues. I’ve told him he just needs to slow down in general because that will help him be a safe driver. Being a safe driver is incredibly important to maintain a safe road and to save lives while driving.