Safety Behind the Wheel

Everyday people encounter some sort of driving accident. Whether people participate in it, or just observe it, the accidents are still seen consistently. Even with this consistent observation of accidents, people continue to make the same mistakes that result in these accidents. All drivers need to be taught driver’s education in our country to prevent driving accidents.

In the state of Illinois, in my experience, people receive their license after going through a driver’s education course, a certain number of hours with their permits, and passing their driver’s test. This is a good system into preparing drivers to be behind the wheel. I have found that people fresh out of driver’s ed courses may understand or know more of the driving laws than experienced drivers do. Yes, driving experience is necessary to being a good driver, but so is an understanding to the laws that are applied in their state.

A big topic of driver’s education that needs to be changed is based on people’s attitude towards driving. People tend to have negative attitudes towards driving. Speeding, cutting people off, brake checking, and so many more aggressive behaviors are due in part to people’s attitudes towards driving. Aggressive speeding happens due to people trying to “show off,” get to their destination faster, or just because people want to. In the current driving education curriculum, the emotional aspect of driving is solemn talked about, and then the next topic is discussed. The negative effect of emotionally aggressive driving needs to be one of the biggest topics focused on during a driver’s education course. Bringing that aspect into the curriculum would allow people to understand the emotions they feel while driving, and act appropriately to them instead of lashing out. Another big change that needs to be made is the way license renewal occurs. Drivers should go through a short course that reups a lot of knowledge that they previously learned as a teenager. This would prevent mistakes in driving that occur simply because people don’t know if it right or wrong.

In 2008, my father got into a car accident. While I won’t fully blame him, I would consider it as a result of reckless driving. During this time, my father had undiagnosed sleep apnea which caused him to be very tired at all times. One day on his drive home from work, he fell asleep behind the wheel, hit a guard rail, and ended up in a ditch. Very fortunately he is okay, and I am grateful for that fact every single day. It shook my entire family, and we all realized a change needed to be done. Luckily this was an easy fix, as he got diagnosed, and now uses a machine to help his sleep. He drives every single day with no issue. Although we got very lucky that he is okay, that could have been a completely different story if he had fallen asleep at a different time or place. As a driver, my father should have evaluated himself and realized that he was not in an adequate position to drive. Since he didn’t do that, I would consider this reckless driving, that affected him and my family greatly.

When I am on the road, I have noticed that my biggest issue is driving anxiety. During my day to day driving, I am a great driver. I live in somewhat small town, so my drive is easy with rarely any traffic. During these drives, to become a better driver I think I would need to possibly focus on my surroundings more often, to become a safer driver. When I drive on routes that I drive frequently, and don’t have to second guess, I tend to day dream. I start to think about other things than driving, and I become less alert. To become a better driver, I would focus on what I am doing, and my surroundings more. My driving anxiety occurs when I am driving in new places or in busy places. One of my biggest problems in bigger areas is that I second guess myself. This can be dangerous when you need to make decisions within a split second. I get overwhelmed sometimes when driving in these areas, and that makes it hard to focus on the things that are happening around me. Driving while unfocused can be dangerous and unsafe. To make myself a better driver in this aspect, I have started to drive in bigger areas more often. Driving in these areas has allowed me to ease my anxiety, and become more confident in what I am doing. I also use GPS apps, even sometimes to places I know how to get to because it becomes one less thing I need to worry about. I am grateful that I have figured out methods that work for my anxiety so I can be safe for myself and others on the road.

Overall, driving accidents can be preventable a lot of the time. Teaching people that the main goal of driving is to get to their destination will be a lifesaver, literally. Driver’s education is so important, and teaching people how to be safe will have many positive benefits.