In high school, getting a driver’s license was defiantly on top of everyone’s bucket list. The importance of getting a license would vary to person. Gathering as much information about what could happen from our actions behind the wheel was critical. Drivers ed is what strengthened my knowledge, success and safety behind the wheel. Before taking drivers ed and practicing, my driving skills weren’t great. My knowledge in operating a motor vehicle were next to none. Being able to practice with someone with more experienced than I was critical. The high school I attended my freshman year ensured drivers ed was free. For low-income families being able to enroll their teens into such a unique opportunity meant everything. This meant every student regardless of their family’s financial circumstance were able to receive the proper learning of great driving practices.
Driving rules, practices, and regulations have been evolving for almost a hundred years. Since the 1930’s driving education started to shape the way that we think, drive and our reaction time in unpredictable senecios. Drivers education has helped young men form the best driving habits to protect themselves and the safety of those around them. Safety tips learned in drivers education has a long-term impact on the way we drive for the rest of our lives. Tips such as a minimum of two car lengths between the driver and the car ahead has prevented countless accidents for people as I and others.
There is nothing that will eliminate the misfortune of an accident. However, there are simple steps that can lower the likely hood of an accident occurring. Texting while driving is one of the most increasingly concerns. The leading cause of accidents among younger people is distracted driving. Cellphone usage while driving made up 23% of all car accidents. This equates to 1.3 million crashes each year. Taking your eyes of the road for just a small period greatly increases the chances of an accident occurring. There are safety features on smart phones that help reduce the number of accidences each year from distracted driving. One of these features is called autoreply. This feature is enabled by turning it on in the settings app. This setting when enabled, will notify the recipient that the person is driving and will receive the message once the vehicle is not in operation. Once the driver turns their vehicle off, he will receive their delayed sent message. This is done by disconnecting the Bluetooth automatically.
Falling asleep behind the wheel is another fatal reason of deaths related to driving. Ensuring an adequate amount of sleep each night is critical to properly focusing behind the wheel. When tired, pullover and take a fifteen-minute nape. This can give you just enough energy to make it back home if your close to your residence. Some experts say that’s its worse to drive tired than it is to drive drunk.
Over the road training hours helps teens gain the necessary experience needed. These hours help strengthen proper driving habits needed for successful driving techniques in uncertain situations. More experience in heavy traffic with an experience driver next to a new driver can help in overcoming the fear of heavy traffic driving as well as some needed pointers.
In my experience when I was seventeen years old, I was driving down the road arguing with my family member. Suddenly my mom told me to slow down, I was about to hit something. I wasn’t looking until it was too late and crashed into the back of a Toyota sedan. This took place at the middle of an intersection.
One way we can make ourselves better drivers is to lead by example. Ensuring experienced drivers are being role models for new upcoming drivers hitting the road for their first time can make a huge impact. Our everyday actions behind the wheel as experienced drivers have a huge impact as to whether someone wishes to continue driving. One example would be, always use a turn signal when making a turn. Weather it would be in a low residential neighborhood or midtown menhaden using our blinkers lets new drivers know our driving intents. Another example would be leaving plenty of space between the driver and the new suspected driver. I often see in my experience when a student driver is on the road, other drivers are quick to speed up and pass increasing the likely hood of an accident.
Ensuring that we become the best drivers that we can become today will have a substantial impact on those looking forward to driving soon. These are just a few pointers but there are many more safety tips and guides that can be acquired when you enroll in drivers ed today.