Driving Safely

Driver Education Initiative Emma Haage page 1

I feel that driver education is something that not only needs to be taught at the beginning of drivers ed but ongoing after you receive your license. The reason I feel that all drivers should participate in ongoing drivers education is because you could develop bad habits over time. The more educated, safe, defensive drivers we have on the road the better chance we have of reducing serious accidents and death. I see friends, family, and even myself getting away from the safe practices we learn before getting our license. As a society, we need to break this trend and focus on taking care of ourselves, our loved ones, and other drivers.

One simple but crucial step would be to simply put our phones in the trunk. If you just look around, it is not hard to find people texting or looking at their phone instead of the road. I also feel that cars should come equipped with some form of safety check in regards to drug or alcohol impairment. Finally vehicles should have alerts that will sound swerve out of your lane or if you are speeding. Some cars already have those features (like mine) but this needs to be a standard on all vehicles. I have been lucky enough to only have been involved in one accident. I was with my dad and a lady hit us fairly hard as we were turning into a park. I am not sure if she missed our turn signal or what happened but it was very scary. This is nothing compared to some other accidents that I have heard about but it was enough to make me realize how important it is to leave a safe distance between cars and pay attention. I have seen my parents and many other people text and drive. I always remind them that they need to put the phone down or put it in the trunk. No text message is worth your life or someone else’s life.

Some ways to become a better and safer driver is by putting your phone away, adjusting the radio before you leave or at red lights, keeping a safe distance between each car, and turning your turn signal on early so the car behind you will have plenty of advance warning. I think every time you have to renew your license you should be required to pass a defensive driving online class. This would make everyone get a refresher on all of those basic safety practices that we all learn as new drivers. In many ways, some of our new drivers drive much more safely then the more experienced drivers. People tend to become too comfortable and to develop bad habits over time. Driving is a privilege that should be appreciated and not taken for granted. If we all do our part, we can keep each other safe and avoid as many serious accidents as possible. I feel that continued safety education advancements in vehicle technology, and good old fashion caring about each other will go a long way toward reducing the number of deaths and injuries related to driving accidents.