Paying Attention Can Be A lifeSaver

As a newer driver
of less than two years, I took drivers ed not that long ago.
At first, I was not happy I had to take it because all I could think
about was what if my friends saw me in the drivers ed car but as I
look back now, I know it was a big help to learning confidence. I was
confident in my driving before I took that on the road drivers ed but
I shouldn’t have been because learning from a professional allowed
me to know that when I passed the test, it was because I deserved to
pass the test. He was not easy on me! I think having everyone take
it could be very helpful in learning that driving is a skill and
requires just as much attention and practice as anything else you
want to learn. I also watched a video through an online drivers ed
that showed accidents and that was pretty upsetting.

I think taking
drivers ed and having to watch videos and see the seriousness of what
can happen is one of the first steps to reducing driving related
deaths. If you don’t take it seriously, you are already creating
increased risk. Another thing I have found out is how I need to stay
alert and paying attention every time I get in the car. I have been
very glad that I was paying attention on more than one occasion when
I was driving because of how others were driving. It’s also
important as part of the paying constant attention and understanding
the seriousness, to build skills and attention without adding to the
distractions through radio, phones and friends. It’s easy enough to
become distracted but seeing your car as another place to have fun is
not going to help you stay focused on the road and other cars
behaviors.

I have never been
driving during an accident but I was in an accident once with my
family and the vehicle that hit us was a teenager doing donuts on the
wet road and he hit the medium and flew in the air and came down on
our jeep. We were all okay but the vehicle behind us was damage when
the truck bounced off our hard top jeep. I do see people do
irresponsible things all the time. Coming out of school, allows me to
see lots of my peers be in a hurry and distracted. I have seen many
minor accidents there because of people not wanting to be kind,
patient and considerate to each other.

I try to stay alert and give myself plenty of time to get where I am
going. I also like to leave school early and arrive early to avoid
traffic if at all possible. I try to keep my phone out of my hands
even at stop lights and keep my music turned down. My sister rides
with me sometimes and I have to ask her to be quiet sometimes when
she is giving me her opinion on how I am driving, while I am driving
so I can stay calm. I can always do better but I do try to remember
how big a deal it is to drive.