Defend Defensive Driving

Adequate driving education is vital to being a cautious, successful, and defensive driver. Implementing effective driving education into the American public school system can teach students to be aware, patient, and defensive when they drive. I believe that driving education should be implemented when one begins high school and should continue throughout a student’s high school career – not just during a student’s sophomore year. By educating students on the dangers of driving, a teacher or experienced driving instructor can prevent a student from driving recklessly (i.e. speeding, passing, racing, texting while driving, etc.) when the student begins to drive alone.

I turned sixteen in May of 2021, and I have been in two major accidents since that time. Both of my accidents occurred within a mile and three months of each other. Being so young, these accidents have impacted how I view driving. Fortunately, I was not physically injured in either wreck, but mentally, I was hurt beyond repair. Even a year later, I am still suffering from the repercussions of those accidents. The emotional and mental damage I developed from these two accidents is something that I will spend my whole life trying to recover from.

In June 2021, I was driving home from work, and I rear-ended a truck in front of me. When I did this, I totaled my car. The week following this accident was the worst week of my life. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t think. During that week, everytime I closed my eyes, I saw the accident play in my head over and over. For months, I suffered from severe PTSD to the point where I couldn’t be in a vehicle without having a panic attack.

I began to drive again in October of the same year. Not even two weeks after I began driving again, I was in a second accident while driving to school. It was a foggy, rainy morning, and I was driving cautiously. A large truck turned left into a gas station while I had the green light to drive through an intersection. I swerved, but he hit my rear driver’s side tire. I spun twice and ended up facing traffic in the turning lane. The damage could have been so much worse than what it was if I hadn’t been practicing defensive driving. In the little reaction time I was given, I was able to swerve out of the way instead of trying to maneuver around the truck aggressively. Using defensive driving in that situation could have saved my life. I immediately ejected myself from the car and made sure the man driving the truck was okay. Luckily, my dad was following me to school, so he was there to make sure I was okay. This accident happened not long after I began recovering from the PTSD of the first accident, and I felt like I was right back at the beginning of learning to drive.

Even now, in March of 2022, I have severe anxiety regarding the road and driving. I constantly have nightmares about the accidents I have been in, and I can vividly remember the accidents like they happened yesterday. As I try to relearn how to drive, I often reflect on what I can do to be a better driver.

Many of my peers that I interact with daily often boast about how much they speed or who they raced on the highway the night before. I often find myself wondering why teenagers boast about things that can have such serious consequences. Personally, I believe that adolescents brag about driving recklessly because they are not properly educated on the dangers of driving. The more I ponder this phenomena of reckless driving, I realize that had I not been in two major accidents, I would most likely feel the same as my peers where speeding is concerned. I have only developed serious concern for reckless driving because of my past accidents. If I received adequate warnings and education about driving and the serious consequences of my actions, I might have been able to avoid my first accident.

Defensive driving can be defined as the practice of anticipating dangerous situations, despite mistakes or irresponsible driving of others. When someone practices defensive driving, you are practicing being a patient, safe, and responsible driver. I believe that defensive driving is the best method to prevent car accidents, which can result in death; I plan to continue to practice this technique as I begin driving again.