For My Little Brother’s Future

Unlike most kids my age, I hate driving. The idea of being surrounded by speeding cars, giant trucks, and people with road rage terrifies me. I hear about kids my age getting into car accidents, crashing into one another, running off the road, and drunk driving all the time. I know that I would never intentionally do something dangerous and irrational like driving under the influence, but I know other people do. My fear of driving and the dangers that come with it has made me realize the importance of driver education and its role in reducing the number of driving fatalities.

Learning how to drive gives many people a larger sense of responsibility and independence. Some students and young drivers often drive recklessly because they feel liberated from the control of their parents while behind the wheel. Thousands of people die every year from driving-related incidents and according to the CDC, around 2,800 teens died from car accidents, and around 227,000 were injured by them. While the number of driving fatalities has begun decreasing since 2005, the number of deaths is still above 30,000 which is just under the number of deaths resulting from the Korean War. Since the probability of a teen driver getting into an accident is so high, most car insurance companies charge extra when adding someone under the age of eighteen to their coverage plan. With all this data in mind, there is clearly a crisis regarding driver education and safety in America.

Programs like Alive at 25 have been very successful in educating young drivers about diving safely and the amount of driving fatalities every year. When I was in the program I cried when I heard the stories of kids dying from their own reckless driving or through other people’s driving. My biggest worry from this is the possibility of endangering other people from my driving. Hearing how people have killed their friends and other innocent parties while driving has really stuck with me and I’m always extra cautious when I have a passenger with me. I think it’s important for people to be a little afraid when learning how to drive because of how dangerous driving is. Many people my age treat driving as something fun and liberating instead of viewing it as a major responsibility that can lead to serious and fatal injuries.

Now that I have been driving on my own for around two years, I have become more aware of how recklessly and dangerously my parents drive. As an example, my mother never buckles her seatbelt until after she has left the driveway, nor does she wait for me or my brother to buckle our seatbelts before she takes off. Additionally, she and my father always speed. I recently got into an argument with my mother when I asked her to slow down because she was going forty-five miles per hour in a twenty-mile-per-hour zone. Since we were in my neighborhood, I was worried she might run over someone since there are a lot of young children who often play in the street. Instead of acknowledging she was doing something incredibly dangerous and illegal, she chose to slam on the breaks to yell at me for being a backseat driver and complaining about everything she does. Another example happened recently when my dad was pulled over by an unmarked state trooper after he passed him on the highway going eighty-eight miles per hour in a sixty-five miler per hour zone. I honestly had no sympathy for him because actions have consequences; especially ones that endanger multiple lives. Either one of these incidents could have ended with one of my parents being killed or possibly arrested for killing someone else. Now, every time I am in a car with someone who is speeding or driving recklessly I get a tight feeling in my chest and an overwhelming sense of dread that I never had before learning how to drive. As someone who has only been driving for a few years, seeing adults drive so irresponsibly is scary. I know I will always do my best to drive safely, but I can’t stop people from speeding on my own, especially since my own parents refuse to listen to me.

If we want the number of driving fatalities to go down, we must all work together to make it happen. To start, it is important to always make sure you are driving as safely and responsibly as possible. Every day when I drive my little brother and I to school, I make sure both our seat belts are buckled before the car even starts. I also make sure to be mindful of my surroundings, speed, and the actions of the cars in front of and behind me. I point out things to my brother and explain how things like yield signs work and when to safely make turns. We also make sure to turn off the music playing in the car when we are at crowded intersections to make sure I am not distracted and prevent my heart rate from going up. When I mess up I always apologize to my brother and explain what I did wrong. I usually have this problem when making left turns. People often get impatient and honk their horns and illegally pass me when it takes too long to get a safe opening which can cause me to panic. When I get panicked I am more prone to make reckless decisions that can endanger my life, but more importantly, my brother’s. My brother is my responsibility and if I were to do something reckless that could injure or kill I couldn’t live with myself. Having my brother with me when I drive has helped me become a more diligent and safe driver.

Additionally, if the driving mortality rate is going to go down, car manufacturers and politicians must make an effort to prevent reckless driving. A lot of car commercials highlight how fast their cars can go and the latest cars can have top speeds of over one hundred miles per hour. The highest speed limit in the United States is eighty-five miles per hour so there is no reason for civilian vehicles to go over eighty-five miles per hour. If car manufacturers make cars that can’t go over eighty-five miles per hour, then speeding will decrease significantly. Furthermore, as technology advances, cars should be able to register the speed limit and prevent whoever is driving from exceeding it. Great progress in driving safety has already been made in cars that automatically stop or have rear cameras to aid in parking, but there is still more that can be done. We have the technology to prevent speeding and it needs to be mandated safety aspect in all cars. If politicians mandate that car manufacturers add safety and anti-speeding features, then those unwilling or accustomed to unsafe driving will be forced to follow driving laws making the roads much safer.

Finally, whenever you are the passenger in a car and someone is driving recklessly and irresponsibly, ask them to slow down, take a deep breath, and remind them that there are other people’s lives at risk. Sometimes a reminder of what is at stake is enough to get people to drive safely. Driving is a responsibility that needs to be taken seriously, and with the right education, laws, and programs in place, we can reduce driving fatalities to zero.