Steps to Take to Become a Better, Safer Driver

Studies show that more than 46,000 people die from car accidents every year in the U.S. alone. Therefore, driver education is so important for the safety of many lives. Learning about driver safety can greatly increase the chances of not being in a car accident and not getting severely injured. Texting, drinking, and even playing music loudly in the car can be fatal while driving. The importance of driver education is to teach drivers how to drive safely. By taking certain steps to be a better and safer driver, the number of deaths due to reckless driving can be greatly reduced and others can be taught how to drive safely and correctly.

Alcohol and drinking are one of the major reasons people today suffer from car crash injuries. Driver education teaches that there are many ways to avoid drinking while driving so that drivers do not suffer from a severe injury, the main one being, never get behind the wheel if there was a consumption of alcohol. Even one drink can compromise driving abilities. By drinking alcohol, the ability to judge distance, speed, and movement of other vehicles is impaired. With this hindrance, drivers are more prompt to wander from lane to lane or even drive off the road. Another step to avoid drinking and driving is to appoint a designated driver. A group should always appoint someone to drive them around if they know some will be drinking that night. This ensures that everyone will safely arrive at the destination. Driving education teaches how to avoid all aspects of drinking while driving. This guidance will help many other people avoid death by car accidents.

Texting and calling while driving are another major reason why people suffer from car accidents. Looking at your phone while driving takes the driver’s eyes off the road and the driver’s attention away as it is now on the phone and not on the road. One step to avoiding a car accident from texting is by not picking up the phone in the first place. Because it is illegal, drivers should never look at their phone while driving. If the driver believes the message or phone call is more important, then they need to take the action to pull the car over to the side and answer the phone. By picking up the phone, it endangers the passenger’s lives as well as the own driver’s life. Another way to avoid a car accident from texting is by putting the phone in a place that will not distract the driver while navigating. If he or she cannot see or hear the phone, they will not be tempted to answer or pick up the device. One last step to avoid texting while driving is to completely leave the phone at home and not bring it in the car. Without a phone, there is no way to be tempted to text while driving. By taking these steps to reduce the chances of texting while driving, the driver is reducing the chance of him or her and the passengers getting severely injured or even dying.

Even though it may seem like a myth, playing music loudly in the car can increase the chances of a car accident. It impairs the driver’s hearing, attention, and reaction time. If the driver cannot hear, they will not be able to notice emergency vehicles if they are passing by. The driver’s attention is not only focused on the road now, but also on the music. One step that can be taken to reduce the risk of a car accident is to turn the volume of the music down. This allows the driver to be able to hear emergency vehicles coming. Another step which can reduce car accidents is by not playing music at all. By playing music, the driver does not have their full attention on the road. Their attention is now focused on the road and the music; therefore, the driver’s reaction time is lessened. Taking caution on how the driver and the passengers play music in the car can decrease the chances of injury and death from car accidents.

I personally have not experienced being in a car accident or seen friends or family members driving irresponsibly; however, before my father was born, my great grandpa died from a motor vehicle accident. His light had just turned green, and as he was crossing the intersection, a woman in a larger vehicle was not paying attention and ran through the intersection when she had a red light. The woman hit my great grandpa and he was thrown across the intersection and was dead before he hit the ground. If the woman had been paying attention to the road, my father could have met his grandpa, and, possibly, I could have met him too. I chose to take driving education and to follow the rules that come with driving, which allows me to be a better and safer driver. By being a better and safer driver, I can influence those around me with how I drive; therefore, helping those people become better and safer drivers as well. Choosing to take or not to take driver’s education can influence the driver’s life and everyone else’s life, whether it be a passenger’s or someone else’s driving on the road.

There are many ways to be unsafe while driving. However, it depends on the driver to enforce this unsafe activity. Driver’s education teaches new and experienced drivers how to avoid car accidents and what steps need to be taken to be a better and safer driver. The driver’s actions also influence how other people drive. By being a safer driver, other people will see those actions and become safer drivers themselves. The roads could become a safer place to be.