Driving: A Responsibility We Love To Have

Every day leading up to a child’s sixteenth birthday seems like the longest day of their lives. All they want to do is jump into the driver’s seat of theirown vehicle and drive with their friends. However, the impatience that the child experiences becomes a distraction. The children are agitated and they only focus on their freedom and not on the importance of safe driving. That is why driver’s education is so important in the lives of young teenagers.

Driver’s Education is the one class that students constantly pay attention to in order to gain what they believe is their freedom. Although, they fail to see the real importance of the class. Driver’s education talks about basic rules of driving but also discusses points that can save a person’s life. Driver’s education shows videos and replicas that teach students the effects of reckless driving. For example, in my driver’s education class there was a video of a car crash shown to the whole class. This video changed everyone’s perspectives. It showed the true repercussions of driving and what could happen if students do not take it seriously. This made a serious impact on all of the students in the class. We all discussed ways that could have prevented the incident that we saw on the screen. This lesson has stayed with students and they constantly see things that remind them. This has left an imprint on the students, it has changed the way students drive, and, in return, it has saved millions of lives.

Of course there is more that can be done in order to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. This can start with the parents of the future drivers. Children learn from their guardians. They see exactly what they are doing on the road. If the guardians are reckless and carefree while driving then the children will see that as normal. However, if the adult driver drives safely and keeps their phone away from them while driving then the students will adapt that as their driving habits. I also believe that driver education classes should stress the idea of putting the drivers phone away while driving. I have seen many people have their phones out while driving and they are never able to keep their focus on the road, no matter what they say. If the phones are put away then accidents would decrease drastically. There would be less distractions and drivers would have more of their attention on the road and other obstacles.

Luckily, I have never been in a situation where myself or my friends and family have been seriously hurt in an accident while being irresponsible. However, I have heard many stories about people that I have known. Specifically, there was a car accident in my home county in Illinois. There was a young man who passed away. He was around my age and was known all around the area as a bright, strong and responsible student. He was driving one day when a lady got distracted while driving. It was believed that she was on her phone and that is why she swerved into the opposite lane. The cars hit head on and both of the drivers tragically passed away. This event has been heard and felt by everyone in my county. We all grieve and the irresponsibility has been pointed out. It has changed the way many children see driving for the better.

Becoming a better and safer driver is an important way to contribute to the world. It can make the roads safer and more reliable. In order to do my part I plan to take action and slow down while driving, watch the roads at all times, pay attention to my surroundings and other cars, and, most importantly, put my phone away into my glove box while driving. That way I could not access it while I am on the road. I also plan to do my part by helping other people while driving. I will do this by making sure that people that I am riding with are following the same rules for driving that I am. I will tell them if there is something that they missed. I will tell them the directions so that they do not need to worry about where we are going. I will make sure that they know the impact that their driving can make and how it can change their lives, my life, and the lives of other people on and off the road. By doing this I will hopefully prevent new disasters that so many people have experienced already.