Name: Ashley Melchert
From: Peosta, Iowa
Grade: College Freshman
School: Northeast Iowa Community College
Votes: 0 
Driver
Safety Saves Lives
The importance of
driver safety education is a huge one! Driving a car is not a right,
it is a privilege. Just like everything else that could put other
people or yourself at danger like that if not done correctly, you
need to learn how to do operate it correctly before you should be
allowed to do it on your own. Driver safety education teaches kids
how to drive correctly, how to read important signs on the roadways,
and many other very important things that you need to be able to
recognize in order to drive safely for themselves and other people
who may be on the roads.
One big step that
can be taken to reduce the number of deaths by motor vehicle
accidents is to make everyone understand that they need to drive safe
ALL THE TIME. Not just when the weather is bad or something like
that, but all the time. There is always someone else’s safety that
they need to be concerned with along with their own, so there is
really no reason to not drive safely.
I have been in a
couple of car accidents myself. One was back in 2013 when my first
son was just five days shy of being one year old. He was in the
backseat. Thankfully I had him in the correct car seat and strapped
in correctly so he was not seriously injured. I had my back and
shoulders injured though, and I was under the care of a chiropractor
for a while. The second car accident that I was in was just recently
– last week actually – we were rear ended on the icy highway when
the roads were not plowed very well. I had both of my sons in the
backseat this time as well as my fiancé in the front seat. My fiancé
and I took the worst of it. The boys were ok. We all went to the ER
to be checked out though.
What steps can we
take in order to be a better driver? Simple – follow the laws and
rules and make good decisions. Don’t text and drive. Don’t drink
and drink. Don’t talk on your cell phone when you are driving.
Don’t speed. Follow the suggested speed for windy roads and turns.
