Defensive Driving

Defensive
Driving

My
grandmother, my best friend, and my number one supporter. My
grandmother was telling me before this accident that she at 65 years
old had never been in a car accident. Little did she know, later that
night she would have gotten into one. About a year and a half ago now
she had gotten into a car accident. The distracted driver swerved
into her lane and hit the drivers side door, crushing it, and
totaling the car. She had a broken arm and she had to get a few
surgeries.

As
a teenager, I have not been driving that long. I have been driving
for over a year and a half. My parents have always told me that when
I start driving to never get distracted and to always keep my eyes on
the road. As usual I would say okay and move on with my life. But the
day my grandma had gotten into that accident I realized that
everything my parents had said was in fact true.

Driver
education needs to be taken more seriously in order to help improve
driver safety. I had taken drivers ed online and some of the videos
were kind of disturbing especially when showing the aftermath of a
car accident. From the graphic images and voiceovers I had told
myself that I would be a defensive driver and never get distracted.
One of the biggest problems we face is people not knowing what to do
in certain situations. Some people do not know what to do if the car
is hydroplaning or even the proper distance between them and the car
ahead of them.

One
way that will help reduce the number of deaths related to driving is
to have a guest speaker share their story with the students and staff
at school. From past experience kids will like a passionate guest
speaker talking about their own life stories and experiences more
than a lecture or a video. The speaker can be whomever but the kids
need to hear life changing experiences to gain a better understanding
and a deeper level of knowledge about the importance of driving
distraction free.

Personally,
I need to put my phone on silent and have the radio volume down to a
point where I can hear my car running and to be aware of my
surroundings. To help others I can present a slideshow and talk about
the importance of driving distraction free in the drivers ed classes
at school. Along with this I can help the students gain hands on
experience with demonstrating on a real car the proper procedure on
what to do when the car is hydroplaning and the proper distances, to
name a few.