Responsibility will save lives

Responsibility will protect lives

Fear takes its place in the mind of every single person around the world. Whether this is a fear of being alone or a fear of death, it manages to keep thousands of citizens from internal peace. Many fear the oceans because of sharks and their ability to rip people limb from limb, however, in 2020 there was a small total of ten people who died from a shark attack. While being afraid of the ocean and the animals that inhabit it are valid, it’s not as often that people mention the dangers of the road. 1.3 million people die each year in car crashes, that’s an average of 3,700 deaths each day. The truth is, cars are one of the deadliest dangers to human life, but the need for travel keeps humans at risk. If people can’t avoid driving, a viable solution is to teach people how to drive safely. Driver education can reduce the number of deaths each year by teaching people how to read road signs, use signals, and how to pay attention. Learning how to safely operate a vehicle before getting a license can help people avoid dangerous situations as both a driver and a pedestrian. Not only is vehicle knowledge important in basic safety skills, but also having the right approach and frame of mind can make a difference between life and death. An education gives drivers a confidence needed to navigate the roads safely. Giving people a driver education prepares them for the many encounters they will have on the road such as flat tires or broken headlights. One night I was driving home from work when my engine light popped on. I safely pulled over to the side of the road and put on my hazards. I then called AAA and close relatives who were able to help me. I knew what to do in this situation because I took a driver education course before starting my journey as a vehicle operator. With the knowledge and skills developed by an education, I feel confident while driving and that is the importance of teaching people how to drive. Each year I see people around my community and in my life pass away, and it’s quite often that they were a victim of a road accident. A few years ago, there was a woman I worked with and one morning she and her friends were intoxicated while driving. They attempted to turn a corner and were hit by an empty bus. This caused injuries in all four women and the one I worked with was in a coma for months. She lived, and to this day I am reminded that not many people get that lucky. Travel is a necessity but just like other necessities such as food and exercise it’s important to take basic safety precautions. If these women had been responsible enough to know not to get behind the wheel, or responsible enough to put on their seatbelts, this could have been an entirely different story. Not only is driving intoxicated endangering your own life but also it threatens the lives of others. I knew this woman in my town and when she had barely turned eighteen, she had decided to drive home under the influence. She got into an accident and while she was not injured, the woman in the other car had been killed. This woman was driving her children home when suddenly one person’s bad decision had ended her life and changed her family’s lives forever.  Not only do I feel safer with my driver education, but I feel safer knowing that by making conscious decisions I am protecting others from harm. Tragedy surrounds my life and I constantly tell myself that I must drive safely in order to save lives. In both cases, the girls were distracted and intoxicated and in a split second their lives had changed forever. If they had been told these horrendous stories of cars drastically changing and ruining lives, maybe they would have made other decisions in order to protect people. Maybe instead of assuring others that cars are safe and there are bigger things to fear in the world, people should take a step back and realize that every time they step into a vehicle, they are putting lives in danger. The road is dangerous whether you have an education or not because there will always be someone who skipped class or ignored the teacher and in result could be responsible for death. If more people take a driver education course the message could be spread around the world of the importance of making sure you are staying safe but also making sure you are aware of your surroundings and making sure that others are being safe. Knowing how to react and knowing the situations where you should not get into a vehicle can drastically change the horrific driving statistics for the better and create more drivers who are passionate about protecting themselves and others.