Inspiring Safer Driving

Most
deaths relating to driving have been caused by distracted driving,
such as drunk driving or texting while driving. Although there are
already some legal penalties for distracted driving, it is clearly
not enough. 

While
perhaps the most useful part of my driving education was learning
defensive driving techniques, my teacher also took the time to teach
us the importance of wearing a seat belt. He did this by showing us
videos that demonstrated the consequences of not wearing a seat belt,
and how wearing a seat belt could make all the difference. I believe
that drivers’ education should take a similar approach to distracted
driving.

When
I was in high school, my school discouraged people from distracted
driving through an emotional appeal. One day a year, a group of
students would wear black, and after each class period, a gong would
ring. After each ring, less and less of the students wearing black
would be allowed to speak, as they were pretending to be dead to
signify teens who died due to drunk driving. On that same day, during
the morning announcements, they read the same poem every year about a
girl who was driving home from a party and had done everything right
but was killed in a crash caused by a drunk driver. 

This
was the kind of thing that inspired me to be an extremely careful
driver. I drive carefully because I am the only thing I can control
on the road. To be a safer driver, I stay within the speed limit,
keeping aware of pedestrians and all other cars on the road. Above
all, I am prepared for anything to happen.