The steam from the shower had been refreshing. Soft upon my skin and delicate with its war, balmy touch. How suddenly something so pleasant began to suffocate, cloying, dank, and stinging. The water was now ice, or was it my blood? When I answered my phone from the safe confines of the water's warm embrace, I was greeted with screaming, sobbing, and begs. My little brother, on the other end, panicked, scared, and crying. His incoherence bottomed out my stomach as he told me he was hurt, in a car crash, on some indiscriminate dirt road. He didn’t know where. I bolted from the shower, crumbling as I dressed. Soap still clung to my skin, fusing with the sweat newly beaded on my neck. At the scene of the wreck, a chill coiled down my spine, frigid fingers splaying across my back. The car was totaled. Smoke was pummeling from her mouth, and oil leaked from her hood. My brother and his friends ran towards me. Adrenaline coated their faces, masks of the freshly survived. The car lay teetering on the edge of a precipice along a black and dusty dirt road. My little brother wept as his friends stood trembling like small trees in a windy forest. My hands continued to shake as I drove them to the hospital, talking with them in the calm tones of the confident and secure. Flitting through my mind were thoughts of how much worse it could’ve, would've, or almost been. I felt so indebted to whoever, that they sat unharmed, stinking of fear and gratitude. How thankful I was that they were alive. Not all are so lucky. Many, in fact, are not.
Drivers’ education, especially during the teenage years, plays a critical role in future driving habits and responsibility behind the wheel. It's devasting knowing that thousands of teenagers lose their lives in car accidents every year. Driver’s education can resolve this issue by providing young drivers with the skills and knowledge needed to be safe and secure drivers. Teaching new and sometimes reckless drivers road safety, defensive driving, and potential driving hazards is instrumental in creating safer driving environments for everyone on the road. When I was a teenager, eager to gain newfound freedom behind the wheel, I enrolled in driver’s education during the cold winter nights after my high school courses. This is where I truly became a driver. Surprisingly I’ve never received a ticket, been in a crash, or had even a minor accident. I attribute part of that to the driver’s education I received and the rest to a healthy dose of fear.
So, in my experience, driver education isn’t just a class to be taken, but a fundamental art of becoming a responsible and safe driver. It goes beyond the basics, imparting knowledge about road rules, instilling the importance of defensive driving, and fostering awareness of potential risks. If we want to address the heartbreaking statistics and ease the minds of sisters, mothers, brothers, fathers, friends, and family; then Investing in comprehensive driver education that is available and affordable to all is a vital step. It ensures every new driver isn’t just handed a license but is equipped with the skills and mindset to make responsible decisions on the road.
There are many ways we, as a society, can go about reducing driving-related deaths. The most important way is to incentivize and strengthen driver education programs, making them easily accessible, affordable, and easier than alternative routes such as the classic DMV driving test. From my experience, driver's Ed was something I personally had to seek out and enroll in. It was also very costly. Many families may not have the resources to afford such courses or know how or where to enroll in them. By making them easily accessible with incentives, many more teens would join willingly. A few other ways to reduce driving-related deaths would be to continue promoting awareness of impaired driving and the extreme dangers that come along with it. Showing teenagers and other drivers the dangers of killing yourself, friends, or strangers is a useful and vital way to show the severity of the giant, rapidly moving machine many of us sit behind. Promoting awareness combined with stricter traffic laws would encourage safer driving habits.
Safe driving is imperative, and just because someone has been driving for years doesn’t mean they cannot cause or be in a wreck. Safe driving is a continuous practice that requires consistent work. There are several steps to becoming a safer driver. Remaining vigilant when driving with no distractions such as texting, changing the car settings, or making phone calls. Not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or driving while tired. Personally, wearing seatbelts and ensuring all passengers have them as well. Following the speed limits and driving according to the road conditions. Taking defensive driving courses, and lastly encouraging friends and family to also follow driving safety habits. These are all ways that people can become safe drivers and it is something we should all practice any time we get behind the wheel. Nobody should have to receive a chilling phone call with devastating news, especially when safe driving is an option.