Dive into the Dangers of Driving

In the Driver’s Seat

As a teenager, we think we know everything about driving, like don’t text or drink and drive and wear your seatbelt. But if teenagers know so much about safe driving, why do so many fatal car accidents involve teens? Facts around fatal car accidents scare us, but everyone must know them before they start driving, so they drive safely. Due to personal experiences, I know that driver’s education helps in reducing driving-related deaths, and many other things that can help as well.

Personally, I have never experienced a car accident while driving, making me pretty lucky. Although, a few times I experienced accidents while members of my family were driving. No one got seriously hurt, and they did not drive unsafely, but it scared me all the same. One of my close friends passed away due to a car accident, and it impacted me greatly. Since I could not drive yet, she always drove me places when the softball team went to eat or hang out, and I knew that she did not wear her seatbelt all the time. If she wore a seatbelt, it might not have left her uninjured, but she might have survived, and I wish that while I rode with her I told her to put it on. Though this experience terrified me, it also opened my eyes to how unsafe driving practices can impact a lot of people, and made me a much safer driver.

No one should experience the pain that comes along with losing someone close to them in a car accident, and luckily, we can reduce the number of the accidents. Educating students on the dangers of driving would make the roads safer and high schools should require driver’s education classes. However, it should not be someone telling teens not to drink or text while driving, but real life examples of how unsafe driving impacts people. For example, bringing in someone who lost a family member in an accident, or bringing someone who caused a fatal accident while distractedly driving. Furthermore, making people take driver’s ed classes before they can renew their license would help keep older drivers accountable as well. Personally, I can remind others to wear their seatbelt, and not drive distracted to keep our roads safer for everyone. Also, I could volunteer at a drivers education class, if someone needed help, as an example. Listening to stories of people with first hand experience to any situation can help us better understand the topic, and we should do that for driver’s education as well.

To conclude, driver’s education is one of the most important things to keeping the roads safe for everyone. Losing a friend or relative in an accident causes almost unbearable pain, and in the future I hope that no one must experience that pain. Reaching that goal will take time, but increasing education about driving, and striving everyday to make the roads safer, will allow us to keep everyone safe while driving.