“A Car is a Weapon”

When I was in driver’s education, I learned this important phrase, “A car is a weapon.” This simple but powerful phrase made me do a lot of thinking. A person who is operating a weapon, such as a car, must know how to use it or else there could be an accident or even a fatality. When using a car, a driver should be aware of all the possible outcomes before getting behind the wheel and driving. There are plenty of accidents where the person fell asleep at the wheel, were drunk, or were simply not paying attention. Driver’s education helps prevent death and accidents because people are learning how to respect the privilege of driving and understand the serious consequences that come with not driving correctly and breaking the law.  

 When taking driver education, you will learn everything you need to know about the car you drive and every law that you must obey while operating the vehicle. This educational class is undoubtedly one of the most important classes people will take in their life. If someone does not take driver’s education and then expects to know how to even drive or address a serious situation on the road, then it will not be good for anyone who encounters them on the road. I have seen many people drive irresponsibly and it makes me feel uneasy seeing them behind the wheel. This should not be a feeling myself or any other person should be having as they are driving, whether it be around town or on a major highway. Some drivers feel they are “above the law” and disobey it, not taking into account how this affects others around them. It makes me wonder if these drivers even went to a driver’s education class, because surely if they did they would respect other driver’s around them and the laws associated with driving. If someone at a young age is exposed to an accident or a family member being injured from a car accident, then they would be hesitant to break the law to not end up like the situation they witnessed.

In order to look at the steps that must be taken in order to prevent that amount of deaths, one must remember that some people do not take a driver education class and wait until they are 18 to get their licenses. These people can ace the test but not get the correct education needed for this specific form of transportation. Better laws can be enforced as well which cracks down on people who are driving without a license in hopes that no one will get injured or die from another person’s driving “mistake”. People do not want the blood on their hands of someone they killed in an accident due to poor education or disobeying the law. If a person knows this guilt and keeps it in mind each time they step into the car, then this might prevent deaths in car accidents. The government should enforce driver education courses for every licensed individual because it will be accustomed to the stress of driver responsibility. People might be worried about the cost of the program, but there are ways the government can fund these courses since it will be for the betterment of the community.

The steps that I can take personally to become a better and safer driver are to adhere to the speed limit as well as not being an angry driver. The speed limit can be a difficult law to follow since the majority of the drivers go 5 to even 10 miles per hour over the speed limit and you must stay with the flow of traffic. If you do not stay with the flow of traffic, it can actually be more dangerous because people will be speeding around you or have road rage, which could lead to an accident. People sometimes go under the speed limit, which is also unsafe because the drivers around them might think they are going at normal speed and end up rear-ending them. This action of driving slowly tends to lead to road rage and that is a state of mind, which needs to leave the mindset of all drivers. When this mindset comes in, a person does not think rationally and goes off their anger by driving irresponsibly. Road rage puts the person and everyone driving around them at risk for an accident since it affects the way of the road. I can help others become safer on the road by being an example and explaining to a current or future driver if they are confused with an action and why I committed it. If a young driver watches you drive irresponsibly, they might think that you are driving correctly and follow in your footsteps in a negative way. We all do not share in the responsibility of ensuring safer roads through education, proper actions, and the right mind set each time we step behind the wheel.