Name: Wade Jellings
From: Provo, Utah
Votes: 0
Wade
Jellings
Youth
Forward Scholarship Essay
22
February 2019
Instilling
Safe Driving in our Youth
There
are a lot of issues facing America today, and unsafe driving is one
that plagues us right here at home, every day. Things such as
distracted driving, driving under the influence, and neglect to
follow the rules of the road all contribute to the astonishingly high
annual death count from unsafe driving.
Educating
new drivers is one of the greatest methods to prevent this issue from
growing. Young people are some of the most unsafe drivers. If they
are taught to understand the real implications of driving, they will
be more likely to put away their devices and pat more attention to
their driving. They will be less likely to participate in using
mind-altering substances, and much less likely to use them before or
while driving. Their attention to lawful practices on the road, such
as stopping at stop signs and adherence to the speed limit, will
increase.
Driving
while under the influence is another major contributor to unsafe
driving. Young people are taught to stay away from drugs and aren’t
allowed to legally drink alcohol until age 21. These things need to
be reemphasized to them while learning to drive. Driving while under
the influence of anything is extremely dangerous, and can result in
hefty fines and jail time. Youth need to understand that it isn’t
worth it and that if they do find themselves under the influence, it
would be better to contact a trusted person for a ride than it would
be to die in a drunk driving accident
One
of my friends, late in our Senior year of High School, was driving
irresponsibly by exceeding the speed limit on a back road. He took a
turn to fast and rolled his car into a ditch. His car was completely
wrecked, and he and is his single passenger both spent some time in
the hospital. Fortunately, no one sustained any fatal or permanent
injuries. It can happen to anyone, no matter how good of a driver you
think you are, and it can end very badly My friend was lucky.
We
can all work harder to be better drivers. I know that I personally
could turn down the radio. I like to listen to loud music, and I
sometimes do so on the road. If there were an emergency and I
couldn’t hear cars honking or sirens wailing, I could get into a
serious situation. I might not hear a vehicle coming from behind me
that can’t stop, and wind up in a serious car accident. One of the
safest practices is to put your phone away before driving, and then
keeping it away until you reach your destination. There are so many
distractions we can experience while driving. If we can eliminate as
many as possible, we will be in the best circumstances for safe
driving.
