Driving has and always will be a very dangerous activity, think about it you’re moving at upwards of possibly 50 mph in a 5000lb vehicle with hundreds of other cars just like yours on the road. In 2021 the US had a total of almost 43,000 deaths from motor vehicle accidents, so many countless lives that could’ve been safe if everyone was following the rules and paying attention to the road. Many people take drivers education for granted and tend to forget about the the things that they’ve learned for it, like not using your phone while driving, using your blinkers all the time, not going above the speed limit, simple things that people tend to not follow that lead to things like a car accident and the taking of an innocent life. If more people understand the significance of why we take drivers ed and why we have certain rules in place, then they will realize it’s not to be mean but instead to keep a regulated place that people can drive on without having to fear of someone flying down the road and hitting them. Drivers ed helps people learn the strategies of a defensive driver and how to react to certain situations.
The biggest way that a person can help reduce the number of deaths caused by cars is simply by being a defensive driver. A defensive driver is paying very close attention to the road so that they are ready for if anything unusual occurs on the road. To become a defensive driver you can start by paying attention, you have to always be scanning the road, looking ahead of you, ahead of the cars that are in front of you, you have to keep looking behind you to make sure people aren’t acting stupid right behind your car, you have to look to your sides, you do all of this scanning so that if for whatever reason you need to swerve out of the way then you know who and what is around you and where you can go without hitting anyone. When being a defensive driver you can’t assume that other drivers know the rules or will even follow the rules, you must be prepared for a driver to do anything so do not let your guard down. Distractions also play a major role in being a defensive driver, as a driver there are so many distractions teens are faced with, it could be their phone, their music could be super loud, or they could be transporting a bunch of their friends. All of these are things that can take your attention away from the road so it would be smart to limit them so that you can stay focused on the road.
After being in a car accident my perception on driving was altered. I saw how quick something could go wrong and how significant the damage could be from one car hitting another. I was in Junior year, and it was lunch time, I got in my friend’s car and there was a total of six of us in the car, I was in the third row. As we were driving to a restaurant, I didn’t notice it at the time, but I now realize just how many distractions there were at the time, for starters there were six people in the car everyone was talking and having a good time, there was music playing in the background, and the drivers crush was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. So, all these things going on and his attention was seemingly starting to dissipate. As we approached the light to turn left, it was blinking yellow meaning that we had to yield to the oncoming traffic before turning, he never stopped the car so I’m assuming he just was not paying attention the the oncoming traffic. So, when he turned there was an oncoming car that had the right of way and he t-boned them as he was making the turn. At that moment I was just thinking of all the small things leading up to the actual accident that could have been avoided if the driver was being a defensive driver and not letting the distractions in the car get the best of him. From that moment on I started noticing all the small things I could do to prevent causing a collision. I, myself got into a car accident as well that I caused. It happened as I was leaving the school parking lot; I made the dumb decision to try and skip the line to leave the school by going in between parking spaces. As I was approaching the last one to skip the line, I swear I looked to the left and I saw no cars coming. However, as I was pulling out of that last spot a teacher was driving her car in the same direction I was turning to, and I hit the front of her car. It was a horrible mistake that I will be sure to never make again. I feel like drivers ed should show more caution towards parking lots because of how small and tight some of the corners could be and how unexpected cars could be. So from that point on I’ve just sat in the line and dealt with the wait.