DMVEdu Essay

Motor vehicle accidents can be a result of many things. Texting and driving, driving under the influence, or looking away from the road for a second can be deadly. As with all accidents, these are preventable. With more focused drivers avoiding distractions, lives can be saved and hours inside hospitals can be prevented.

Distracted driving is common, whether there is another person in the car, a phone, or some other distraction. Many times, “just sending one more text” can lead to death. Due to this, drivers ed is critical in reducing car accidents. It is up to the DMV to deem if someone is worthy of operating a vehicle, as they are not just driving for their own safety, but for the safety of everyone around them as well. The Driver’s Test should be more stringent and include testing for distractions. Even after students receive their license, supervised practice should be required before they’re freely allowed on the road. This would reduce the count of motor deaths.

I have personally been in a car accident. When my sister was 17 and I was 14, we were making a left to enter the freeway home. A car kept moving forward and rammed us on the passenger side, where I was sitting. When the police showed up, the young driver confessed that she wasn’t paying attention while texting and just kept driving forward. I was shaken up by the accident and it was terrifying that I could’ve lost my life. When the accident was settled, I had to attend physical therapy to deal with my concussion and physical pains.

This accident could’ve been prevented had she not had been distracted. To prevent accidents like this, my parents put rules in place, preventing my sister and me from texting, calling, typing in a location, or doing anything else on our phones while driving. They tell us to set the music before we even take off, as to not try to adjust it on the road. These are the steps I take to remain safe and undistracted while driving. Technology is convenient nowadays and many people think that taking a few seconds to text on your phone can’t disrupt your overall attention. A second is all it takes to cause an accident or end a life. Especially with children, an increasing dependency on technology can shorten a person’s spatial awareness. This reduces focus on an individual’s timing, peripheral, and depth perception. This goes for food as well, as a person rushing down the road, trying to grab a bite of food, has less control over the steering wheel, putting them at risk for an accident. Social interaction can do the same thing. Distractions such as technology, food, or social interaction shortens the attention of a driver, causing accidents and injuries to many. Through spreading my methods to avoid distractions to my peers, and the DMV having more rigorous standards, future generations of drivers can become better and safer on the road.