Why Driving Should Not Be Taken Lightly

Why Driving Should Not Be Taken Lightly

What is driving? Is it a privilege? A ticket to freedom? Or is it just a simple source of transportation for people to travel around quickly? To me driving is a responsibility, one that shouldn’t be taken lightly because if you are not aware of your surroundings when you are sitting behind the wheel you could get yourself into a lot of trouble.

The first step to becoming a good driver is having the proper education to do so. Sure your parents, another family member, or even a friend may have their license but, do they really know the rules of the road? When I first started driving a car my father had taken me out for a spin in his SUV however, my father doesn’t exactly follow the rules of the road. In fact it’s almost like he has come up with his own set of rules for the road when he’s driving. Now not saying that he doesn’t follow all of the rules, just some. For example, although my father is a very extraordinary driver sometimes he can be a bit hot headed and impatient when sitting behind the wheel. When driving my father often likes to cut people off or honk his horn at them very aggressively when the light turns green. Due to this fact I felt that if my father had taught me how to drive I’d end up just like him, which is something that I didn’t want to do. This was when he offered to take me to a driving school in order to ensure that I was following the rules of the road correctly and that I wouldn’t put myself in any danger when driving. Attending a drivers education school is very important because it can help save a lot of lives and prevent a lot of accidents from occurring.

Once I started taking classes at the driving school they taught me that rule number one about driving is to never be impatient, take your time when driving, and to ALWAYS be very cautious of your surroundings. This is a very important step that can be taken to help reduce the number of deaths when driving. If you are an impatient driver not only are you running the risk of putting yourself in danger due to rushing but, you are also putting the other people on the road in danger because imagine how much pressure or distress they would be under if they had someone constantly honking their horn at them. Another important thing that I had learned from the driving school was that on my first lesson I constantly got scolded by the driving instructor for not coming to a complete step when approaching a stop sign. Till this day I will never forget the words that the instructor had said to me “Do me a favor once you get home and google the word stop for me”. I felt so embarrassed after hearing those words that everytime I approach a stop sign I always remember to come to a complete stop, check my surroundings, and wait for approximately five seconds before proceeding. The reason why I was so used to rolling through a stop sign and not checking my surroundings thoroughly was because whenever I had gotten into a car with my father or anyone for that fact they would always roll through stop signs and not come to a complete stop as they should. This was one of the many reasons why attending a drivers education school was very important for beginners because they can teach you a lot of things about the rules of the road that you never knew before.

A couple of other steps that can be taken in order to avoid any car accidents or to aid in reducing the number of deaths related to driving are always wear your seatbelt, never take your eyes off the road, do not go over speed limit, follow all road signs, never drive while being intoxicated, always drive with headlights on, especially at night or during harsh weather conditions, use signals, be aware of surroundings, and pull over if anything goes wrong with your vehicle or if you are feeling ill.

Following these simple steps will help you come a long way when it comes to driving. I too will also follow these rules in order to ensure that I am a better and safer driver on the road as well as helping others become safer on the road. I recently got my drivers license and I am always cautious when it comes to driving. Thanks to these safety tips and the fact that I follow the rules of the road I can help prevent a lot of accidents from occuring when driving. I am so grateful that I have not ever been in a car accident before and that my friends and family are very receivable drivers, especially when it comes to driving me around.