Driving Education and Steps to Make Driving Safer

I believe that driver education is extremely important, as it is required to learn in order to drive a vehicle legally on the streets, without any parent/guardian supervision. The number of deaths while driving is mainly caused by lack of driver education or laziness toward such topic. Teenagers are susceptible to ignoring blatant rules about driving, then they can get into accidents. Driver education keeps the mind engaged in what is happening while driving, as your mind will remember the rules of the road and will look out for when they make any potential mistakes.

The steps to take in order to reduce the number of deaths related to driving are the following:
1. Stay alert of your surroundings
By being more alert, you are constantly putting every other car and/or object on your radar. While it might seem like a constant chore to always being alert, but driving isn’t just some game you can play on your phone, computer, or console, driving has risks involved. While it might seem fun to drive around without a care in the world, but one fatal mistake can cost lives within seconds. Constantly checking how other cars are driving, how you are driving, and looking at the road ahead can really help with getting to your next destination safer.

2. Be respectful to other drivers around you

Respect is a word not tossed around a lot, but it has a meaning of showing politeness to another person or something. Being disrespectful on the road can lead to road rage for other drivers. Being angry and putting emotions forward is not the best idea while driving, as it can lead to many mistakes piling on top of each other. Putting emotions first while driving, or emotional driving, can lead to aggressive driving, which leads to making mistakes on the road, potentially causing a crash. While it might seem unsettling for another driver to cut you off or make mistake in front of you, but it isn’t your job to correct their behavior, it never has been. Giving respect to other drivers leads to a safer environment for people to keep driving, especially if they must go to their destination just a bit faster.

3. Minimize as many distractions as possible

This step should mainly be done before starting up the car, but some distractions can be done while driving too, but it isn’t advised. When you get into your car, make sure distractions like potential loud noises, texts, and/or calls are silenced, or turned down to a degree. While some people want to answer right away to their parent’s phone call or friend’s text message, doing it while driving has the possibility of causing an accident, especially if you are a new driver. If you are an experienced driver, having certain distractions might be ok, like music or a podcast playing, but other potential distractions like a text message, phone call, or notification, can still cause you to make a mistake.

These steps allow for potential mistakes to be nullified, as you are eliminating the mistakes before they happen.

While I have not experienced being in a car accident before, nor have I seen friends and/or family driving recklessly, I do know that a family member had been in an accident before. They were not staying on full alert while driving, which led to them crashing into another car at an empty intersection. My first-time hearing about this accident was when I had arrived home after school. I didn’t know what my parents were talking about, as I had just put my stuff down in my room, getting ready to see if there is any food downstairs. Then, my parents were talking about my uncle’s car being completely totaled. When I had asked what happened, they told me about how my uncle crashed at a seemingly empty intersection. My uncle survived the crash, but it really allowed for me to see that 1 second of not focusing on the road can lead to multiple lives being lost.

Some steps I can take to become a better and safer driver is to always be alert, make sure my surroundings are safe including myself while being in the vehicle, and minimize any distractions before driving. For helping others become better and safer drivers, I would always advise them to make sure to eliminate any potential distractions, focus on the road, and be respectful to other drivers. Applying these steps to myself can set an example for others, to show other drivers that while it is great to drive, there is always a sense of precaution and safety while doing so, or else there will be consequences, even if the time frame is just 1 single second.