In today’s society, driving has become the number one mode of transportation in cities across the United States. With an increase in the need for cars, there is an increase in the need for proper driver’s education across all ages to minimize the amount of car related accidents and deaths. This education in itself will help all to understand the foundational knowledge needed to work a motorized vehicle. It will create the framework on the protocols one must follow when changing lanes, making a left hand turn at an intersection, avoiding obstructions on the road, sharing the road, yielding to pedestrians, and utilizing quick critical thinking skills on the road. Not only will it provide foundational knowledge, it will also educate driver’s on the rules and laws that one must follow before getting on the road.

Although one may take driver’s education at one point in their life, it is also up to the driver themself to practice discipline and uphold the protocols they learned in driver’s education. Many car related accidents today happen because a driver refuses to listen to protocol, does not focus on the road, lacks critical thinking skills, and does not listen to their car. There is an extensive range of driver’s on the road who all have learned how to drive at different times over the years who have not updated themselves on the new protocols that have been put in place to help protect drivers and pedestrians. As a driver myself, I understand the importance of updating my knowledge of driver’s education and feel that it would benefit all driver’s to refresh themselves by retaking the driver’s license test every 10 years for drivers between the ages of 16-60 and every 5 years for drivers above the age of 60. Along with retaking the driver’s license test, a driver over the age of 60 should have a symbol of some sort on their car or license plate to let other drivers know that they are older and to implement patience when driving with them on the road. To go along with retaking the driver’s license test I feel that when a city, county, state, or federal government passes a new law that relates to driving that all drivers should be notified directly.

To further help to reduce car related accidents in young adults who are easily distracted by their cellular devices, I feel that it is best to start implementing in Driver’s Education that they should put their cellular devices on ‘Do Not Disturb,’ ‘Driving Mode,’ or placing their cellular device out of reach and/or sight to limit the amount of notifications that may take their mind away from the road and to put in place the habit of not checking their phone while behind the wheel. By instilling this habit before young driver’s get behind the wheel and on the road it will lead to a decrease in car related accidents and deaths caused by one’s loss of focus on the road.

To accompany the steps above, I feel that it would be best to educate all drivers on the basic mechanics on how cars and motorized vehicles work. In educating drivers on the basic functions on how a car and other motorized vehicles work, a driver will not risk driving behind the wheel with a car that is not functioning properly. Some of these basic mechanics include but are not limited to oil changes, spark plugs, changing a tire, tread on a tire, brake pads, battery corrosion, replacing headlights, taillights, and indicators, replacing windshield wipers, car coolant, and air filters. To go along with understanding the basic mechanics of cars, drivers should listen to how their car sounds when driving to catch noises that one may miss when the car is not moving. By knowing the signs of damage and possible damage to a car a driver will not put themselves and others at risk for being on the road.

As a driver myself, I have not been in an accident but I have seen others get into accidents and those around me not practicing safe driving. Most of the accidents I see are those of drivers not paying attention to what other drivers are doing on the road, like making a U-turn when there is a car making a right hand turn or not braking at a safe distance or hard enough to stop the car from hitting the bumper of the car in front of the driver. There are some accidents that I have seen that are caused by speeding cars making quick last minute decisions that put other drivers at risk like changing lanes with little room to pass by and turning into oncoming traffic because they decided to run a red light or not wait until there was space to turn. Apart from the accidents I see, I also see drivers not practicing safe driving measures as I will see other drivers on their phone while driving for unimportant things like social media, choosing a song, sending a text, looking at pictures, and shopping online. If I am in the passenger seat with a family member or friend who is driving I would ask if they want me to do something on their phone so they won’t have to distract themselves by looking at it. I would also be a defensive passenger by looking out for possible hazards that the driver may miss and letting them know of sudden changes that may be happening around them.

Although most of the steps I stated need further approval, I can make myself a better driver for myself and others around me by updating myself and other drivers of any new laws, regulations, or changes to traffic in my city and state, by practicing patience when driving and being a defensive driver, letting others know when their lights aren’t functioning properly, do self diagnostic test on my car and any other motorized vehicle I may possess, and being a good passenger by informing the driver what is going on and to deter their focus from their phone onto the road.