You are Driving a Weapon

You are driving a weapon, have you ever considered that? My driver’s education taught me that and much more! Driving is more dangerous and deadly than combat in our nation. That statement is earth shattering to me. I know of several friends who have had car accidents already. Luckily, none have caused a death. I had an amazing driver’s education instructor. He told us the hard truths of driving and why it should always be taken seriously. We were shown videos that were disturbing of car accidents with teens. It was shocking but it has stuck with me long after the class. I do believe all students should have an in person driver’s education class.

What steps can be taken to reduce deaths from driving? Number 1, don’t drive distracted. That means put the phone away and silence it. Do not let people distract you in your car. Keep the music at a level that you can still hear things around you. Do not eat while driving. Never drive under the influence of anything. This includes pain medication, drugs, alcohol, or even not enough sleep. Also, NEVER get in a car with someone under the influence of something. Always be aware of your surroundings. Expect the other people on the road to not do what they should. Leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you. That will give you time to react. Always follow the speed limit. Driving over the speed limit causes accidents and reduces your time to react to a situation. Lastly, ALWAYS wear your seatbelt! That definitely saves lives.

I ended up researching more strategies to improve your driving skills. Here are a few: Limit distractions, they come in many forms. Know yourself by knowing your strengths when driving and your weak areas. Learn from the experience you have on the road. Always follow traffic rules. Stay alert at all times. Don’t rush, allow yourself plenty of time to get where you need to be. Be patient and do not show or react to road rage. Pay attention to the weather. There may be times you may decide not to drive because of the weather. Understand car parts! My dad is an industrial technology teacher. He has taught me the importance of knowing your car and knowing the sounds that cars make when something is going wrong.

Luckily, I have not been in a car accident. I have witnessed friends doing things while driving me that I was uncomfortable with them doing. I’ve had friends use their phone, put on makeup, look away from the road to talk to me, etc. I myself have decided to drive myself most of the time. This helps me to feel more comfortable.

The steps that I take to be a better driver is practicing driving. I think practice helps. I also try to listen to the advice that my parents give me. They have driven much longer than me! I can also help keep my family and friends safe by pointing out things that can place us in danger. My brother is currently in a driver’s education class. I help him study and give him tips. I love my brother and want him to be safe. I’m thankful that he has the same teacher I had for his driver’s education class.

I think I take driving even more seriously because my dad was in a serious car accident when he was a teen. The person he was driven by had an accident and died at the scene. My dad was a lifeguard at the time and he tried to save her but couldn’t. He is over 50 years old today and that incident still hurts him today. Vehicles are convenient and helpful but they come with a huge responsibility. As teens, it is difficult to believe that something like this can happen to us. We feel we are invincible and that just is not the case.

I believe telephones are one of the biggest distractions to people my age. We receive numerous texts a minute. When driving, the best rule is to place the phone in the glove compartment on silent mode. You can always check your phone once you arrive at where you were going.

Thank you for considering me for the Driver Education Initiate Award. I enjoyed applying for this and thinking about the importance of a good driver’s education course. Even if I am not awarded, it reminded me of several great tips for being a good driver.