Driven by Competence

Andrey
Franco

In
the Driver’s Seat

Learning
how to drive is one of the most glorious privileges and moments of
freedom for teenagers. While driving is a privilege, it is not a
right. Many teenagers receive their license, without being adequately
educated on the importance and responsibility of operating a motor
vehicle. Many drivers are not aware of the haunting facts about motor
accident-related deaths in the United States.

Realizing
and understanding accident deaths can be sobering to drivers,
especially new drivers. Many accident deaths are preventable and are
due to negligence and ignorance. Understanding how powerful and
impactful driving is can change someone’s perspective on how they
view driving. According to the CDC, accident-related deaths are the
leading cause of death amongst teenagers aged 12-19. Teenagers are
most likely to die from car accidents than anything in the United
States. If teenagers were to realize this eerie statistic, teenagers
would take driving more seriously and would realize the importance of
being a safe driver for themselves and others.

Reducing
the number of motor vehicle deaths is vital towards perpetuating a
safe and healthy society for its citizens, especially teenagers. One
way to effectively reduce car accidents is to increase the access to
motor education for teenagers. This will ensure the new drivers of
the road are well educated and understand the importance of following
traffic laws, understanding traffic laws, and understanding that they
are laws for a reason. Another way to reduce car accident-related
deaths is to inform people, especially teenagers, how texting and
driving is just as dangerous as drinking and driving is. I know many
of my teenage peers who text and drive and every time I see it happen
I try and call them out for being irresponsible for putting their
life at risk and my life at risk. Due to negligence and ignorance,
teenagers cause their insurance rates to go up and sometimes their
parents have to pay the price of their teenager’s actions.

I
drive roughly 50 miles to school and back. I have become very
knowledgable about the written and unwritten rules of the road due to
the amount of time I spend driving. Even though I drive a lot, I am
not the perfect driver. A few ways I can improve as a driver are:
making sure my car is properly maintained, not consuming food or
water while driving, staying focused on the road, making sure
everyone in the car has their seatbelt on and understanding that my
life and other people’s lives are at tremendous risk while driving.
I can practice better defensive driving mechanisms due to the lack of
knowledge of many seasoned drivers.

Operating
a motor vehicle is an exceptional way to travel and the most popular
method of transportation. With driving comes very great
responsibility and understanding of the risk that comes with driving.
Improving as a driver and education of the rules of the road is vital
towards ensuring the safety of society.