The Road Ahead

Most deaths relating to driving have been caused by distracted driving, such as drunk driving or texting while driving. Although there are already some legal penalties for distracted driving, it is clearly not enough. 

While perhaps the most useful part of my driving education was learning defensive driving techniques, my teacher also took the time to teach us the importance of wearing a seat belt. He did this by showing us videos that demonstrated the consequences of not wearing a seat belt, and how wearing a seat belt could make all the difference. I believe that drivers’ education should take a similar approach to distracted driving.

When I was in high school, my school discouraged people from distracted driving through an emotional appeal. One day a year, a group of students would wear black, and after each class period, a gong would ring. After each ring, less and less of the students wearing black would be allowed to speak, as they were pretending to be dead to signify teens who died due to drunk driving. On that same day, during the morning announcements, they read the same poem every year about a girl who was driving home from a party and had done everything right but was killed in a crash caused by a drunk driver. 

This was the kind of thing that inspired me to be an extremely careful driver. I drive carefully because I am the only thing I can control on the road. To be a safer driver, I stay within the speed limit, keeping aware of pedestrians and all other cars on the road. Above all, I am prepared for anything to happen.