Paving the Road to a Safer Future

Alexis Wilson

Drivers Education Scholarship Essay

17 November 2020

 Paving the Road to a Safer Future

Life is full of inescapable dangers, but usually, car accidents are not one of them. Most accidents happen due to driver error. This does not include situations influenced by the weather, though there are many ways to lower those numbers as well. Distracted driving is a massive issue, more so today, because we have technology such as cell phones, as well as the upgraded buttons on our dashboards. Car Accidents are far too common among teens, and the only way to solve this is with more teaching and supervision.

Accidents can happen anywhere and anytime, and most commonly, they happen within a few miles of our own house or workplace. I have only ever been in one car accident, and unfortunately, I was the cause. At 15, I was on my way to work when I stopped at a red light. I took my eyes off the road for only a few seconds when the car in front of me scooched up. I mistook that for a green light and pressed my foot on the gas. Thankfully, the man was kind, but I did have to pay my insurance deductible; currently, I am still dealing with the repercussions due to an increased insurance rate. It was a minor mistake, but it could have been so much worse. Now I try to give my full attention to the road, and especially make sure to look before I step on the gas pedal. Less than a week ago, a young family friend was in a car accident with his friends. The two boys in the front were messing around, and he was in the back without a seatbelt. They ran off the road and hit the side of the car against a tree. Now, he has many broken bones and will not be out of the hospital for another week. Real friends should care about your safety, but so should you. More seat belt wearers are essential to lower fatality and injury rates. My best friend drives way too fast for the road. I was not paying attention to her speed, but thankfully, my mom was on the Life360 app. She was going over 90 mph. Now I pay attention to the speed of whoever is driving, and she is more careful.

Practice and supervision are ways that society can lower accident rates. Parents should take more time to teach their children how to drive in-depth. My mother grew up in Minnesota, so she believes driving in snow and ice is an important skill to learn. After it snowed, she would use an empty road to teach me how to fishtail and correct my vehicle safely. Though Kansas does not have as bad of winters, this skill has helped me multiple times, including visiting Minnesota during Christmas time. Dash cams, both facing the driver and facing the road, can help prevent accidents and fraud. When teens know someone could be looking, they are more careful. While this could be viewed as an invasion of privacy, I believe that safety should come first. Also, there have been many cases where one driver tries to frame another driver for causing an accident in order to collect insurance money. This can be extremely dangerous for everyone involved. Lastly, the driver’s education class should be free to everyone, or at least for the first time. I was lucky enough to have a school that offers it at a cheaper price, but I know that it can cost hundreds of dollars. My best friends were not able to take driver’s education classes through their own schools, so they decided not to. We cannot expect to change the way people drive if they cannot afford the classes required to make the change. Change starts with learning how to do better.

When cooking, my family has a saying, “the first time you cut yourself is when you start becoming a good cook”. This should never apply to driving. Driving is a privilege and a symbol of growing up. Car accidents are not a rite of passage. Society needs to do more to prevent them by way of teaching and supervising those who are most affected. Educating our teens now will lead to better drivers in the future.