Driver Education Initiative Award

There are many concepts you need to learn when it comes to being a safe driver. Knowing how to drive properly can help reduce the number of deaths due to car accidents. One task that needs to occur when driving is to check your mirrors often so you can get an idea of what type of drivers and objects are around you. For example, if you notice the car in front of you keeps swerving over the white line on the side of the road you should assume that the person driving the car is distracted by someone or something. With this information, you recognize that you either need to keep distance between your car and theirs or change lanes and pass them while following the rules of the road.

Another step that can be taken to prevent distracted driving is putting away your cell phone. Statistics say that around twenty-six percent of car accidents are caused by people texting or talking to someone on the phone when driving. If there is a need to text or call someone when you are driving, pull your car over where it is safe to do so and finish your call or text. An additional step that can be taken when driving is knowing your limits, whether that be feeling tired, drowsy, or how much you’ve had to drink. When you become tired while driving you want to pull your car over in a safe place or if someone else in the car can drive, have them take a turn while you rest. Knowing your limits when it comes to drinking is also very important. Every day there are about 30 people who lose their lives due to either driving drunk or getting hit by a drunk driver. So when you feel that you are not able to drive responsibly you either want to call someone or have an Uber or taxi come and pick you up from wherever you are.

As an adopted child who has a biological parent that has struggled with alcoholism, I know first hand what the consequences are for drunk drivers. One day, not long after my biological father passed away, my biological mother was arrested because she hit someone while under the influence. I then had to go live with my aunt and after trying to go home to my mother a few times, I was then placed into foster care and was adopted by my foster family after five years. After thinking about my biological mother’s actions I realized how fast irresponsible driving can tear apart a family. To this day, I wish that my mother had chosen differently, but her choice has impacted the type of driver I want to be. As I become more experienced with driving, I not only want to be attentive to the drivers around me but also become more aware and comfortable, and achieve the goal of becoming a very skilled, safe, and successful driver.