The Secret Epidemic

The United States has an epidemic that many people do not know exists. This epidemic has claimed more American lives than the Vietnam war and the Afghanistan war combined. This secret epidemic started all the way back in 1886. This epidemic is caused by one invention, the car. The car itself is not what should be blamed for all of the lives taken. The blame should be put on the uneducated drivers behind the wheel. The only way to reduce the deaths is by continuing to educate drivers once they get their license. Thousands of people get their license by knowing the bare minimum about cars. This leads to them getting their license and putting everyone they drive pass in immense danger. The way to stop the danger and the deaths is to make driving education more engaging. Beginner drivers are forced to go into a driving class that is long and boring. The nature of these classes causes students not to listen therefore not to learn any of the dangers. If driving instructors implement more engaging teaching methods students will thrive in the lesson and learn. Ways to do this can include adding activities, asking students questions throughout the lesson, giving incentives to listen, ect. Doing such will allow for a better learning environment for everyone. With a better learning environment people can learn how dangerous of a machine they are driving. If a person truly knows the dangers they are less likely to drive carelessly. This leads to less deaths on the road. Without implementing good driving classes, deaths will continue to rise in the United States. However, new drivers are not the only ones causing deaths. Long time drivers that have gotten too comfortable cause just as many if not more. The way to prevent these careless deaths is by continuing driver education after obtaining a license. A way to do this is by having a class similar to the one I described early to continue to warn of the dangers of driving. However, drivers also have to take responsibility for safe driving. They have to work on making themself a better and safer driver. They have to take the responsibility of not driving distracted or under the influence. If every driver made sure not to do both of these things the death caused by driving would plummet. Another thing they can do is work on their driving skills. Doing this requires practicing stressful situations behind the wheel to prepare for the real thing. For example, driving on the freeway can be a very stressful experience but with practice a person can become a better driver by doing it repeatedly. Along with the stressful situation divers need to continue to practice basic skills like parallel parking and three point turns. Practicing such skills will help drivers stay ready for any situation. Nevertheless, people continue to drive irresponsibly. A few examples in my life are with both my family and my friends. The first example is when my father got into a crash. He was driving to a church and he looked down to grab something then as soon as he did that a man pulled out infront of him. This caused him to slam on the brakes which on impact broke a bone in his hip. This break forced him to get a hip replacement which affects how he can move to this day. Another example is with my father again. This time the other driver was not paying attention and drove straight into my father with my sisters in the car. This crash caused my sister to get a cut on her face when she was very young. This cut caused a permanent scar on her left eyebrow. Both of these are examples where drivers have been careless by checking on something in the car or just not paying attention which causes permanent damage to someone’s body. Small examples like these are reasons to give your full attention to the road. The last example of a careless accident was with a close friend. He was coming home from band camp late at night. Due to the lack of sleep he had the night before he was very tired while driving. This caused him to fall asleep at the wheel and go off the road. Luckily no one was fatally wounded but he and his sister were still injured and had to stay at the hospital. Accidents like these are the reasons driver’s education is so important. If it pushes topics like distracted driving thousands of people would not die every year. Going back to the beginning of the essay, this entire epidemic can be stopped if we as drivers take more responsibility while driving and if we are taught more about the dangers of driving throughout our lives.