The Responsibility of Being a Texas Driver

As someone who is new to driving and starting to learn the ways of the road, I can say that driving is one of the biggest responsibilities someone can have. On the road, you must be defensive and watch for others on the road. Signaling and following street signs such as stop signs and direction markers are way that we can keep others and ourselves safe. Learning details such as what every sign on the roads means or how the lines on the road give us instruction are all part of the driver’s education course so that us Texas teens/adults are educated on the rules of the road. I believe that taking a driver’s education course is an integral part in reducing deaths resulting from dangerous driving, that steps that can be taken to reduce the number of driving related deaths, my experience with observing irresponsibly driving habits, and how I can become a better, safer driver.

First, the importance of a driver’s education course is to ensure Texas teens and adults know the importance of how to avoid distracted driving and how to drive defensively. While being enrolled in the driver’s education course, it is required to have behind the wheel as well as in classroom instruction. During the behind-the-wheel instruction, you are seated next to licensed driving instructors who teach road safety such as how to be aware of your surroundings such as signs and of other drivers while on the road. A crucial course that we specifically had to take was the distracted driving course. In this course we learned that nearly one in five crashes on Texas roads were caused by a distracted driver. Distracted driving includes eating while driving, texting/making a phone call while driving, talking with passengers while driving, and/or having the music too loud while driving; these examples are just to name a few. Just by remembering to not engage in this activities while driving, lowers your chance of being in a fatal car accident which can reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving, protecting those around you.

Additional steps that can be taken to reduce the number of driving related deaths is to always drive defensively. By doing this, you are to ensure that you are aware of other dangerous drivers and actively prevent potential accidents or dangerous situations. This can include being aware of pedestrians when driving in neighborhoods by driving even below the speed limit where it’s hard to see anyone crossing the road. It’s also making sure that watch those other distracted drivers, such as them changing lanes without looking and I can avoid the accident.

I have experienced an occurrence of someone in my family driving irresponsibly, which was an eye opener for me. This occurrence was involved speeding on state highways and not abiding street lights. This family member was driving at 100mph when the posted speed limit was 65mph. In the moment, I was scared of what might happen and was keeping a watchful eye on other cars on the road. Thankfully, this was late at night and not many cars were out but just because there wasn’t a collision involved this does not mean that these actions were safe and acceptable driving. A lesson that I learned from being in this scenario was to not mimic those irresponsible acts because I would not want to be responsible for any deaths that possibly could’ve resulted from this reckless driving. I have since refused to drive with this family member since and do not condone their irresponsible driving behavior.

Therefore, some steps that I myself can take to be a better and safer driver is to always stay alert and drive defensively. For example, I can stay off electronic devices while driving, follow speed limits, signal when turning or changing lanes, make complete stops at stop signs, be watchful of pedestrians, and safely cross intersections at all times. Some other steps that I believe many people oversee is to be mindful of those who you allow into your car as passengers. As a teenager, I often observe many fellow teenagers allowing irresponsible people in their car that constantly cause distractions to the driver. This choice of passengers has a drastic impact on being able to drive safely.

In conclusion, I have greatly benefit from the driver education course as I have learned how to be a defensive driver and how to operate my car safely. I believe that Texas roads will be safer if everyone was properly educated on how to drive smart, safely, and responsibly.