Driver Education Initiative Award

Education for drivers is extremely important to the safety of others. Knowing the rules of the road, as well as understanding the vehicle that is being driven, can be the difference between life and death. Casualties from car crashes are so incredibly high, and part of that stems from not knowing how to drive properly. The importance of education and making sure that new drivers take the time to fully understand the cars that will be driven will lead to less deaths overall. Another cause of the increase in car deaths is the usage of the phone while driving. While technology has caused many advancements in the world, it has caused a hindrance to driving, attention spans, and in-person connection with people. The new generations of drivers that have a shortened attention span or focus issues, can cause more people to get into car accidents that can be fatal. There have already been more advancements in order to combat the overuse of technological devices. The first being a do not disturb option for when you’re driving. This will mute your notifications so you don’t see/hear your phone going off while you’re driving, and will therefore prevent the temptation of looking at your phone while driving. Now, do people use this function and ignore their phone while driving? Not from any experience with anyone I know. People use their phone for GPS, for music, to text, to call people, to use social media, and more. Even a short 10 minute drive can cause temptations to look at their phone, which can lead to car accidents. I know people who have totalled their car simply because they looked down at their phone to put on a song. It really comes down to being mindful about driving, and not getting too comfortable with taking risks that can lead to accidents.

Personally, I think that the process of getting a driver’s license should be slightly more difficult, with a focus on understanding the rules of the road and what to do in an emergency. It is also important to know what to do in harsh weather conditions, even if you don’t live in an area with those conditions. I live in southern California, where it hardly rains, and when it does, it really just sprinkles for about 20 minutes and then goes away. I never really took the time to learn how to drive in flood or harsh rainy conditions, but right after I got my license we had floody weather for two weeks. I had to drive every day late at night in those conditions by myself, and it was frankly terrifying. I think that driver’s education needs to have more focus on what to do in scenarios so they can be more prepared for any conditions. I also think that it is extremely easy to pass your permit test. In my personal experience, there are so many resources now that can lead to people knowing all of the answers. Online driver’s education can be so easy depending on which program you use, so I think that the programs should try to be a little more universal with one another. Some programs are vigorous, and ensure that you know the information, while others you can click through every page without reading it and guess on the quiz questions without any penalty. This makes it easy to get through driver’s ed and take that step to getting your license quickly. I also believe that people who get their license after turning 18 should still have to go through driver’s ed and behind the wheel training. I know so many people who have waited to get their license until after they turn 18 because it’s so much easier to get, and in my opinion, they are worse drivers than people who went through the whole process. While it is a more difficult and annoying process to go through, I think that it can make a huge difference between people knowing the rules of driving and getting the right experience.

I don’t have too much experience with car accidents, however I was in a car that was in an accident earlier this year. It was both party’s faults, as both were driving irresponsibly, and it led to the car I was in rear ending the car in front of us. My friend, who was driving, was driving a group of us back from eating dinner. The car in front of us was going a little over the speed limit, and a traffic light came up in front of that car. They made it seem like they were going to keep driving, but then stopped at the last second to possibly turn right into the center that was to our right. However, the light turned red so instead of turning, they just stopped. This was a newer car, and the car that my friend was driving was an old car, so the brakes don’t work as well as newer cars do. So, the car in front of us completely stopped almost instantly, while my friend was slamming on the brakes while the car was still moving. So we ended up rear ending the car in front of us. While it isn’t the worst car accident experience, it was still shocking for me to go through, and I felt so unprepared with the situation and what to do that I stayed in the car while my friends got out and talked to the people.

The steps that I can take to be a safer driver is to take more time when I first get in the car to situate myself, so I don’t need to look at my phone while I’m driving. I also try to be mindful when driving, and try not to relax too much to the point of becoming unaware. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get everyone to understand the risks of driving while being distracted or uneducated, but taking steps to ensure that you personally are being safe is a good way to start. Taking that along to keep the people around you in check when they drive irresponsibly is also good to continue being mindful. There is enough tragedy in the world, so it is not worth driving irresponsibly when it can be prevented.