Importance of Road Safety & Education

A driver who is educated in road safety is a driver who knows the law of the road and follows it. A driver who knows the laws of the road will most likely know how to avoid an accident on the road if they follow the directions of the road and pay attention to their surroundings thoroughly. Drivers who are educated can help lower the amount of deaths that occur due to driving by being safe and practicing good driving habits such as not using their phone while driving, and using turn signals when needed.

Teens suffer from car accidents more than people think, from either distractions like phones or just mistakes due to inexperience behind the wheel but these accidents like these should be prevented one way or another. According to the CDC in 2019, around 2,400 teens in the United States were killed in car accidents and 258,000 were treated in medical emergency departments for injuries caused by car accidents. These statistics should be able to alert people that there is a problem with young people driving. Teens are getting into car accidents and dying, which shouldn’t be happening. Driver safety and Road Education being taught to teens is a very important part in helping these numbers go down. If a teen is in a potential accident then if they know how to react properly, they can stop the accident from happening beforehand and keep themselves safe and fellow drivers.

Personally, I have never been in a car accident but some of my cousins have, and seeing my cousins get into accidents and having to see them in pain was something no family member should ever see. I know of people who have lost people close to them from car accidents and they shouldn’t have to go through that pain. People shouldn’t be scared when they drive wondering if they are going to be in an accident and not see their family again. When one of my cousin’s was in an accident she was hesitant to get back behind the wheel for a very long time, until her mother told her that if she didn’t have the courage to drive, nobody else was going to drive her around. Her mother supported her in her journey to be confident in driving and to beat the fear she had from being in that previous car wreck. Although her mother never did drive after that scare, she still told her daughter to be brave and to face those traumas from the accident face on and not let them define her. Seeing my cousin’s resilience to face her fears when she had to go drive again was amazing.

Although, I don’t doubt many Americans after car accidents have never returned to being behind the wheel in fear of another accident happening again. This is truly sad as driving shouldn’t be something people are scared about but people should be comfortable with driving and this is where I think Road Education comes in. If people feel they are knowledge about the road laws then they should feel comfortable driving around and not be in fear, if they grasp the laws. Following the road laws are a very good way to avoid getting in accidents. By not speeding or driving recklessly you are avoiding an accident waiting to happen. If a driver removes distractions such as turning off their phone or putting it on Do Not Disturb then they won’t hear any notifications from friends messaging and won’t be tempted to check their phone.

Some steps I can do to be a better and safer driver is to always turn my phone to Do Not Disturb so I don’t hear notifications from social media apps and not be tempted to look at my phone. I can make sure to pay attention to my surroundings as I drive and make sure to always know my proximity to other cars as I drive. I believe that telling someone when they are driving unsafely or recklessly can also prevent accidents because if someone you trust like a friend or a family member tells you that you are driving recklessly you are more likely to listen to them than to some random person. It seems like a helpful piece of advice instead of an insult. Driving safely should be everyone’s top priority while being on the road and as drivers we should strive to keep each other safe and help each other get home safely by following the rules of the road and not driving recklessly.