True Responsibility

Driving is a big part of some peoples lives and it isn’t treated with as much care as it should. Driving is a responsibility not a right. That mistake is made more than you think. Many people have chosen not to drive because of the responsibility of driving. Many kids are too eager to start driving. They don’t know the weight of this new responsibility. For one, knowing the responsibility it holds and know how you feel about it and its purpose is the most important thing.

Doesn’t everyone get excited about driving for the first time? Getting your driver’s license is one of the first big milestones on the way to becoming an adult. Yet, this is not to be taken lightly. When in a car, you have your life and many others in your hands. Driving is a privilege, a responsibility that maybe isn’t for everyone. Driving shouldn’t be treated as a right that all have. Rather, as for those who choose to drive, should be treated as a responsibility. My grandmother chose not to drive after she hit a curb lightly in the permit phase and this really let the weight of her responsibility as a driver sink in. She has made it through life without driving. This is one big decision many kids must make. Many overlook the enormity of this decision and let themselves be pressured into driving even if they probably shouldn’t drive. Don’t be ashamed by your decision even if it is not to drive. You are taking a huge responsibility off your back and one less stress in your life. Driving is a stressful responsibility that many people don’t really understand until it is too late. The culture’s trend is to push everyone through drivers ed as fast as possible, whether they should be driving or not. Parents and other adults in the lives of teens pressure them to get behind the wheel and to start driving. As a result, these kids are eager to drive. But their big mistake is not telling them about the responsibility acquainted with it.

When kids get into driver’s ed, they start to learn about the responsibility of driving. Driver’s ed should be taken more seriously. Kids are far too eager to start driving, and some don’t pay attention during driver’s ed and cheat on tests. If more kids pay attention in class and observe the world around them instead of being on their phone in the car, the number of deaths would be greatly reduced. Not only deaths being reduced, but as smarter drivers, they would know how to get from place to place without a GPS. So, start your kids young in looking at road signs and places around them. When they are going to being driving soon, start looking at road sign and ask them how to get to where you want to go. If kids are struggling in the drivers ed class and don’t really grasp driving, maybe it isn’t for them. Or on the flip side, some might get overconfident and might start driving irresponsibly. All drivers need a constant reminder that driving isn’t a right, it is a major responsibility, since you have people’s lives in your hands. Many high school and college guys are going to think they are invincible when driving. They might not treat the rules of the road like they should, blowing stop signs, not using turn signals, and texting and driving. Many of my peers doing these things and see more of it every day. Driving is not a game, but a privilege that is not to be taken lightly.

We all see kids and adults driving irresponsibly and aggressive, it makes us want to be better. we don’t want to conform to the mold of “college kids are crazy drivers.” We should apply what we learned in driver’s ed, and every day remind myself that driving is a responsibility. But it’s not just knowing that it is a responsibility, but you need to know the weight of it, having many people’s lives in your hands. Not only people’s lives in your hands, but your own. The safer you are at driving the better you should feel and the better other passengers should feel. Many have never been in or be involved in an accident but have seen many. In every situation, it has been people not paying attention or lacking focus. Most accidents are the result of drivers not being focused and alert when driving. The many fender-benders, rear endings and totalings have to do with two things: excessive speed and not paying attention. The biggest steps we can take toward being a safer driver are: treating it as a responsibility, knowing the weight of our responsibility, being a focused and considerate driver, and mostly above all, understanding whether or not you should actually be behind the wheel in the first place. We all should be excited to drive but know how important it is to be safe while driving.

To sum up, driving isn’t to be taken lightly and should be treated as a responsibility. Don’t let kids become too eager to drive but remind them of their responsibility. Most important of all we need to recognize the weight our responsibility, other lives are at stake.