Drivers Ed Scholarship

Driver’s education is important because it teaches kids the skills necessary to become a safe driver. I remember when I took driver’s education, I thought it would be easy. I’ve seen my parents driving and it didn’t look hard. I quickly realized that it was not as easy as it looks. When I first started learning, I found it very challenging to control the car, know all the rules and predict what other drivers would do all at the same time. It was difficult because I had to learn all of these skills in different stages before I could put them together to be a skilled driver. Driver education gives kids the chance to learn all of these skills in a safe environment before going out on their own; This will ensure that when they are able to get their license, and drive alone, they don’t just know how to control their own vehicle, but they have a deeper understanding of what other drivers are most likely going to do, This helps keep themselves and other drivers safe. An example would be how to use a four way stop. I learned the official right of way rules and how to apply it to a four way stop. It is obvious, however, that people don’t understand that rule. I have witnessed drivers not understanding the rules, or disregarding them, and almost causing an accident. Especially during power outages when traffic lights go out everyone is supposed to do a 4 way stop but a lot of people don’t follow those rules so it can be very unsafe for a driver who cannot predict the actions of other drivers. A big problem is when we don’t follow the rules of the road.Another big problem is distracted driving. People use their phones while driving. This distraction causes almost half the accidents that happen on the road. If people put their phones away while they drive then there will be fewer deaths caused by motor accidents. We learned about distracted driving during driver’s education. We watched a video with people who had been texting while driving and caused an accident that killed their loved ones. I saw a video of a mother lifting her daughter’s lifeless body to hug her after she died in a car crash. This really stuck with me about the importance of staying focused while driving. I think public service commercials and education could help reduce the number of deaths related to driving. It would be similar to how education about smoking helped reduce the number of young people smoking cigarettes. Watching those videos and testimonials can really reach people and encourage them to avoid distracted driving.I was a passenger during a minor accident on the road. My swim team and I were on our way to a state swim meet and the weather was very bad. There was a white out and everyone was going well under the speed limit. The car next to us spun out and hit the side of my door. We were all okay, but the situation was very scary. This experience was eye opening. Even if we are good drivers and do everything right, we are on the road with other drivers. It might not be our fault, but it only takes one person driving irresponsibly to cause a big accident. This is why it is important to drive slower during poor weather conditions. If we were going faster on the expressway when this happened, it could have caused a chain reaction or pile-up. We also have a family friend who lost her life in a major pile up on the expressway. These experiences hit home with me and make me think twice when driving in poor conditions. Some steps that I can take to be a better and safer driver is to make sure my phone is off while driving. I will make sure to have my music set before I start driving. Changing the radio station is another way that can cause distracted driving. When I drive with friends that try to text or change the music on the radio, I always ask them to stop and let me take care of what they need done. By following these steps to limit distractions, I can do my part to be a safer driver and help my friends to be safer too. This is why education about driving is so important to limit the amount of lives lost by motor vehicle accidents.