Constantly Learning to be the Safest Driver

• What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number deaths as a result of driving?

Driver’s education is vital in educating new drivers about the rules of the road as well as practicing safe driving with a professional instructor. Both of these aspects were instrumental in my experience learning to be a safe driver. By taking the in-class portion of driver education before even driving a car, I was able to learn road signs, the meaning of lines on the road, car maintenance, and the law in a low-pressure setting where lives were not at risk. Understanding important concepts of how to be a safe driver before actually driving allowed me to react quickly and safely on the road when I started driving. Once these concepts became ingrained in my memory, being a safe driver was just about practice and experience. The importance of driving with an instructor was essential to achieve that goal. Driving instructors have experience being safe drivers and teaching safe driving to new students making them the best prepared and most equipped people to begin driving with. Even knowing all the concepts of how to be a safe driver, it took me time to put into practice how to drive a car correctly and safely. The importance of the driving instructor is to guide new drivers on how to improve their driving based on their current skill level as well as notice mistakes they are making and inform them on how to fix them. Driving instructors being able to catch my mistakes early on prevented those mistakes from becoming habits on the road. Driving education prepared me how to be the safest driver I could be by teaching the law of the road to let me learn the concepts of being a safe driver and by teaching in practice how to be a safe and articulate driver in a car. When new drivers learn the skill of being a safe driver, they will carry it on to all the future years they continue to drive, creating safe drivers for life. By carrying on the lessons I have learned from driver education, I will continue to be safe and attentive on the road, preventing driving-related deaths just by being an effective and safe driver from early on in my driving career.

• What steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving?

One thing that many young drivers like myself face today is the danger of distracted driving due to cell phones. While cell phones can be helpful in navigation, having them in your line of sight can be detrimental while driving because of the constant notifications that are buzzing and distracting you. One thing that I do to be a safe driver is to put my phone in the back seat while I am driving. I am not a risky driver and take the responsibility of driving very seriously yet, I know that it is the safest thing I can do to make sure that I am present and only thinking about the road while I am driving. By having my phone somewhere inaccessible to me, the buzzing of my phone cannot break my concentration and cause me to be a risky driver. Deaths related to driving include not only the lives of the people in your community but also yourself. A crash can kill you inside the car just as easily as it kills someone outside of it. Reducing deaths related to driving means that drivers themselves must be practicing safe driving in the way they are attentive and focused on the road. As roughly 3,000 people in America die per year because of distracted driving due to cell phone usage, this step of removing your self phone from your line of sight can literally save lives on the road.

• Have you ever had an experience of being in car accident or have seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly?

One thing that many people do not think of when it comes to safe driving is continuous car maintenance to make sure that your vehicle is fit to be on the road. However, making sure that your car functions the way it is intended to is extremely important to be a safe driver. I have never been in a car accident but, I was in the passenger seat when one of my friends almost got in one for driving irresponsibly. We were going down a hill coming up to a four-way stop and when we saw the brake lights of the car in front of us, my friend began to break too. The issue was that it did not work. My friend had not been keeping up with their car maintenance and the brake pads were too worn out. When they hit the brake to slow the car, we just kept rolling. Luckily, there was nobody else at the four-way so the car in front of us continued driving before we would have collided with them but it was probably the most terrifying experience of my life. When discussing safe driving, car maintenance is rarely brought up but it is incredibly important to have a functioning car to drive safely. Now as a driver myself, I never let the symbol lights even come up on my dashboard. I will always make sure that my fuel, oil, and tire pressure are never dangerously low and I will never ever drive with a broken taillight. The dangers of having an ineffective car are too immense to ignore and can lead to seriously irresponsible driving. Making sure that your car functions correctly should always be the first step of getting in the car before you even began to drive, it can prevent you as a driver from losing control and getting into a collision.

• What steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road?

I think the most important thing I can do to be a safer driver on the road is to continue to practice driving. Considering that eyesight starts to decline between your forties and sixties, I still have at least twenty-three more years where I will be an active driver on the road. This means that I currently only have about four percent of the experience driving that I will eventually have, which, in the broader perspective of things, makes me a very unpracticed and amateur driver. Continuing to drive on the road and gain more experience is the best way for me to become a more affluent driver which will not only make me a better driver but also make the road safer. As I improve my driving skills, I will develop a quicker reaction time, vital for being the most successful kind of driver, a defensive driver. Being a well-practiced defensive driver will keep me safe in my car and protect the other vehicles or pedestrians that I interact with on the road. While there will always be some unsafe drivers, the muscle memory that comes from practice and experience driving will make me the safest driver I am able to be and help me protect others on the road. My contribution to being a safe driver will help the road be a safer place for everyone.