Be Safe – Drive Safe

Be Safe – Drive Safe

Driving down a peaceful country road on a Thursday afternoon, you can’t wait to get home to see your family, all you can think about is the tasty food that will be waiting for you. The pavement is touching your tires in a rhythmic way, you are listening to the latest jams by your favorite artist. You approach a stop sign at the top of the hill. You make a complete stop and look both ways making sure no one is there. You have driven this path hundreds of times, and rarely encounter another vehicle. Even though the roads aren’t used often, you vividly remember your drivers education teacher stressing to the class the responsibility you assume when you get behind the wheel. After a complete stop you cautiously move forward to continue on your way home.

You hear screeching tires followed by a loud crash. Out of nowhere, a driver who was looking at their phone to answer a quick text before looking up at the last second sideswipes you. The accident plays out in what feels like slow motion, it leaves you in a mangled car in a matter of seconds. You are in a frozen daze, trying to gather yourself and process what just happened. These types of accidents happen everyday on our roads. Inattentive drivers checking text messages, re-routing their navigation systems, eating, or otherwise distracted are not noticing their surroundings and they are causing accidents, some of which end lives.

Drivers education is crucial to all generations, but particularly with teens. This is because teenagers are the youngest group of drivers and they have the least experience. Driving is a huge responsibility to be given to a sixteen year old. While driving on the roads you are trusting every stranger you see with your life. This is a big deal and by everyone being a safe driver. Trusting people is a lot easier to do. Approximately 1.35 million people die per year from car accidents. This is not the way I want society to look like. I don’t want anymore statistics like that adding up. Thousands of deaths and accidents could be prevented just by paying more attention to the road and locking away your phone. This is such an easy thing to do and checking your phone is definitely not worth the risk of harming someone.

My Drivers Education teacher instilled the importance of not being on your phone or having distractions, and being aware of your surroundings while driving. I remember watching video after video of distracted drivers, the accidents they cause, and lives they ended early. This had an impact on me. I personally take driving extremely seriously, because I never want to be in a situation where I regret checking that text and taking someone from their family. It’s a one second distraction that could cost you your life. Drivers Education can help instill the importance of attentive driving, show you real world accidents that can happen and how you can prevent them. There are always ways to improve your driving. The most important thing is putting your phone away. If everyone put their phone away, car accidents and death rates would go down significantly.