Educating Drivers to Stay Safe

New drivers often have this overwhelming sense of freedom when they finally get their license. But that new responsibility is not realized right away, so they tend to drive quite recklessly, because it is more fun. But that leads to accidents or harm to themselves and others. It is the duty of the parents to allow their children to learn and to teach them safe driving practices. If every new driver had to undergo more extensive driver education, there would probably not be as many deaths due to irresponsible driving. Continuing to make drivers education better is going to make sure that new drivers know how driving should be executed. Keeping the young people educated on how driving can affect theirs and other people’s lives is how they will keep themselves safe. If there were no driver education requirements then the young drivers would cause more chaos than they do now.

Currently there are laws that are designed to make driving safer. Like not being on cell phones, speed limits, and passing regulations. However, things like cell phones are hard to regulate since most modern vehicles have the same technology as phones do. And many people use their phones all the time while driving. Police officers do give out tickets for being on a cell phone while operating a vehicle, but that fine is often not enough to fully deter drivers. Speed limits and passing areas are also not followed for the most part, again because the fines are not enough to stop people in a hurry. People have very little disregard for the speed limit in certain areas because they know the cops do not patrol there. As well as the passing lines on the roadways, they are there for a reason and drivers feel as though they can ignore them in some instances, putting them and others into harm’s way. To help make driving safer, the technology in vehicles is going to have to get much better and much more affordable for those who are not extremely wealthy. It has gotten much better, but it is still not good enough to fully reduce the risk that one undertakes behind the wheel. But it is difficult for safety to be maintained when there are other drivers that are often impossible to predict when they are heading towards another driver. For driving to be completely safe each driver needs to not drive distracted at all, they need to accept the risk and responsibility that they hold and not use their phones and obey traffic laws.

I have been in two very minor accidents; however, it was the other driver’s carelessness both times. Both times, the other person was not paying attention and they ran into me. My family has been lucky because they have not been in accidents, except minor ones. My parents are both safety conscious, they have taught my younger brother and I that vehicles and other drivers can be dangerous. My brother has only been driving for a year and he has the young, reckless driver mentality. He likes to drive fast, which thankfully he does mostly on backroads, where the risk of other people being around is much lower. We have all tried to explain to him that driving the way he does is risky. However, since he is young and wants to do as he pleases, he just keeps driving in that manner. Knowing that he does that is unsettling to me, because he does not have as much experience to control a vehicle if something were to go awry. I worry about him and his friends when I know that they are out at night driving fast when visibility is limited.

As I am driving, I try my best to not get distracted. If I have passengers in the car, I keep my eyes on the road and not on what they might be doing in the passenger or back seats. I also do not use my phone while I am driving, unless someone calls me, my phone sits in the passenger seat and is not used. But having other people to look out for just adds to the responsibility, I am no longer just looking out for myself but for my loved ones as well. I value my safety as well as the other driver’s safety, we are all just trying to get from point A to point B, and to have someone who is not focused to come in and be put in danger is not fair to anyone. It is important to recognize the risk but to also not overboard with safety. There is inherent risk to everything else that humans do, and driving is no different.