“Be careful & get home safe”-dad/mom/…

Being an educated driver makes a difference in if you arrive safe to your destination over a stop sign. Being an educated driver means knowing the laws, knowing how to handle yourself in an emergency, and knowing how to drive with caution to yourself and others on the road. Death caused by an accident has a whole different impact on people than death caused by old age or disease—it is unexpected and can be life shattering. Being an educated driver can save not only the driver’s life and those in the car but also the lives of others on the road and pedestrians.

Personally, the only car accident I have been a part of was putting my old Jeep into a ditch after hitting black ice while turning off the street I live on, less than 100 yards from my house. There was no harm done to anything other than the Jeep’s axle and the dirt. However, this was enough to scare me at 17. I have learned to be overly cautious when there is any snow on the road, and it led to many conversations with my father about how to handle myself and my vehicle during these conditions. I now know the more specifics of the physics behind driving and know how to direct the steering wheel to correct back-end fishtailing during a turn. However, in recent years my brother’s childhood friend wrecked his car going over train tracks too fast wearing no seatbelt and when control was lost when he landed, he crashed and tragically lost his life. When we heard the news, watching my parents and brothers’ faces drop, knowing he could still be here if he was only safe, was heartbreaking. I think about him every year on the anniversary and always think about him whenever encountering train tracks and if this was someone that I used to know in my childhood and I was still impacted years later—why do people not take these risks seriously when it could be a relative or a close friend? I take driving very seriously and things such as distracted driving and texting while behind the wheel are things, I refuse to do and always bombard my friends to focus on the road. I know and preach that a text can wait, many phones can connect to cars to use voice recognition to make calls, changing the music is not the priority, and being awake and alert behind the wheel is necessary. Fueled by fear and a deep care about their lives, these are just some things I hold myself and those around me to. I do not want anything to happen to me, my family, my friends, or any other person. The thought of losing someone or injuring someone is enough for me to be concerned about my driving and to be vigilant on the road.

There are multiple steps that can be taken to increase driver education in general and decrease the number of deaths. One step can be adding in more educational opportunities prior to getting licensed such as different driving condition simulations to prepare drivers for climates outside of their own. Another step could be continuing education that is required for many professional fields be applied to licensed drivers where they must retake education classes periodically to test memory on laws and rules. These education checkups can also include hypothetical scenarios where the driver must talk through what they would do with a driving instructor to prepare. This could also cause a decrease in uneducated drivers—if there is no continuing education, there is no licensing allowed, and for older people who no longer can remember but still drive, this could take away the potential for them to cause accidents and limit driver deaths. Increasing driver education will allow drivers to gain more knowledge of the roads before being on the roads and remove licensing for those no longer fit to be behind the wheel. This can increase safety for all on (and off) the road including signs and animals that are often within the crossfire of distracted driving.

Personally, I can and will continue to police myself and my friends on distracted driving and remind them how the goal is to get where you are going safely. I will continue to teach people the driving tips I have learned and continue to spread awareness about being safe in the car, especially in abnormal conditions and around semitrucks. Driver education and safety goes beyond distracted driving and includes wearing a seat belt and maintaining the car’s health to provide safe transport. Checking to make sure the oil, tires, and gas are all prepared before leaving and having a bag in the back in case something malfunctions or breaks down. Overall, driver education is vital to having safe travels for not only the driver but other passengers and drivers, as well as pedestrians.