Safe Driving

• What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number of deaths resulting from driving?

• What steps can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving?

• Have you ever had an experience of being in car accident or have you seen your friends or family members driving irresponsibly?

• What steps can you take to be a better and safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road?

Driver education teaches you not only the basics of the rules of the road and how to drive safely. It teaches you how to watch the road, obey the street signs and lights, and the speed in the area. It focuses on the importance of ensuring that even when you begin driving, you are a safe driver for you and the others on the road with you. It teaches you the importance of not using your cell phone while driving and keeping your eyes on the road. It teaches you these things because a car can be a great help or a dangerous weapon. It is a dangerous weapon when you don’t recognize and appreciate the power behind a heavy steel body. Young people are taught the rules of the road, but you are never taught how to manage your nerves when you get nervous about what you see while driving. It also doesn’t teach you how to react quickly when something happens as you are driving down the street and something happens suddenly to take the car out of control. Some things come with time and experience that can never be taught in the classroom.

Teaching and emphasizing safe driving is essential because a car needs to be respected. Its power has to be respected to reduce the number of driving-related deaths. Some things are common sense, like not drinking and driving or not being under the influence while controlling a moving vehicle. It is essential because if you don’t respect the power from being behind the car’s wheel, you treat the vehicle disrespectfully, and lives are lost. The number of deaths is reduced when people are taught to respect the vehicle’s power. As I drive down the street and see cars speed erratically down the highway, I know many people who don’t appreciate the importance of driving safely.

Many interventions can be done to teach people to respect the power of their vehicles. One of the first interventions is emphasizing the car’s power, recognizing that speeding and driving under the influence is dangerous. Drivers that don’t pay attention or acknowledge that losing control of the vehicle would cause injury and even death. People don’t recognize that it is not just alcohol that is driving under the influence. Still, it is also smoking marijuana, talking on the phone with it in your hand, texting, and focusing on everything but the powerful car that is under their control. The only way to make roads safer is to teach people that the vehicle needs to be respected and its power is great. Organizations like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving) were created to limit drunk driving deaths. Damaged cars are often placed in school parking lots as a visual representation of what happens to vehicles when the driver is not paying attention. It is one of many essential interventions for young drivers to see the value and strength of being careful when driving.

Shortly after a friend got her driver’s license, we got into a car accident on the expressway, and her mother’s car was totaled. Thankfully we were not injured, but the car was, and it was a wake-up call. It happened so quickly that neither of us was sure what had happened, and as the car was spinning on the expressway, we were terrified. It stayed with me because I recognized that it was vital that I remember the power of the vehicle that I was driving. We weren’t driving irresponsibly, but we still lost control of the car. Thankfully we were not under the influence because if we had, it could have been so much worse, and we might not have been safely able to drive again.

Steps can be taken to improve young drivers by emphasizing the importance of driving safely and carefully. They recognize that you have to lead by example and take the time to learn the importance of the rules of the road. Another thing that can be done is developing groups and programs incentivizing safe driving. We lead by example, and leaders lead from the front, so for new drivers to develop excellent driving habits, they must follow the standards of excellent older drivers. We can also continue encouraging our parents, friends, and family members not to use their cell phones while driving and to focus on monitoring their speed on the highways. Every step, whether big or small, to help drivers become safer is essential in making the roads safer for everyone.