Loosing Loved One’s To Fatal Crashes

A wise man named Jerry Smith once said “Don’t learn safety by accident”. Roughly about 34,000 people’s family and friends have had to learn how to be extra safe on the road due to accidents taking their loved ones’ lives. Car accidents do not only take lives, but they leave traumatic experiences for close family and friends. One of the many things that can be used to prevent the number of fatalities being so high is by enforcing drivers education. Driver education is very important as it teaches driver judgment, defensive driving, common sense, and the important factors of driving in all types of weather. Currently young teens are forced to take driver’s education before getting a license, and it is proven to reduce the amount of traffic violations as well as accidents. In other words, If everyone was forced to take driver’s education, we can have a safer and better driving system that will reduce the 38,000 fatalities, as well as the 4.4 million injuries that occur in accidents yearly.

Personally, I was affected by a traumatic and fatal car crash in 2011 which changed my life forever. Till this day I can still remember the day like it was yesterday, I was only 10 years old when we received the horrifying call that close family members were involved in a fatal car accident. On March 15th, 2011 at around 2:30 P.M a distracted and under the influence driver hit my older cousin’s jeep at a high speed causing the jeep to spin multiple times, roll over, and eject 3 children. Two of the children ejected, my sisters, were sent to the hospital with injuries and the third child , my five year old cousin, was pronounced deceased at the scene. The accident took the life of an innocent five year old child who had such a bright future ahead of her and unfortunately this is the case for thousands of people yearly. Nearly 5.2 million accidents occur yearly, and it is shining a light on the importance of driver education.

Driver education is very important as it can significantly reduce car crashes, and traffic violations for new drivers allowing them to become better drivers in the long run. In an article written by Leslie Reed, she states that “Young drivers who have not completed driver’s education are 75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident and 16 percent more likely to have an accident”.The reason for this is that many people get taught how to drive through a family or close friend and believe it is enough to drive safely. However, as people begin to drive and become comfortable they tend to come up with their own rules and therefore end up teaching new drivers the wrong and unsafe way of driving. This shows the importance of having a professional provide beginner drivers with the knowledge, attitude, and skills needed for safe driving.

In my opinion, I believe one of the steps that can be taken to promote safe driving and reduce the number of deaths related to driving is to enforce drivers education every time a license expires or at least make it a requirement for everyone applying for a license. The reason for this is because as of right now, the only people who are forced to take driver’s education are adolescents who are 15-18 years old. Another possible effective way of reducing fatalities due to driving may be to do frequent license checkpoints, as well as DUI checkpoints. Personally in my 5 years of driving, I have never once seen or been stopped at a checkpoint, which shows that there is not enough enforcement through checkpoints. Checkpoints have been proven to reduce fatal crashes by 18% to 24%, so why not use them to our advantage?

In conclusion, driver’s education can impact our lives as well as other lives in a positive way. If everyone was forced to sit for at least one class, we can possibly see a drastic change in the amount of fatalities caused daily by unsafe driving. 34,000 people’s family friends are affected yearly by fatal car crashes that leave families traumatized, as well as grieving for their loved one. Since I have experienced a fatal car accident myself, I have learned to drive with caution even when others around me are not. Besides making sure I am a cautious and safe driver, I always make sure to spread the word to close family and friends about safe driving. I will always advocate to stay focused, stay alert, and stay at the speed limit.