Don’t be a Selfish Driver

Driver’s ed. The boring class with randomly graphic play-by-plays of crashes and what to and not to do while driving. While I’m sure every teenager has complained about this class at least once in their lifetime, the thought of the road without it makes me shudder. Driver education helps teach new drivers the technical rules of the road and how to encounter other people while using transportation. Letting new drivers onto the road without knowing the laws and regulations would result in more collisions. This applies not only to drivers but also to pedestrians and cyclists in showing them how to safely navigate around cars and other vehicles. There are also many unspoken rules such as having a fast and slow lane on the freeway that a person cannot read a sign to learn. That’s where driver’s ed comes in.

The idea of 18-year-olds driving around without having ever taken driving lessons makes me nervous. I think that the price of behind-the-wheel driving lessons should be lowered and that these lessons should be made a requirement unless renewing a license. Improvements like these could reduce the number of deaths related to driving. The addition of clear electronic maps and location tracking in cars has certainly made driving safer in that fewer drivers have to rely on their phones or look away from the road. Silencing phones while driving is always a good idea as well as checking the route being taken before taking off. Eliminating as many distractions as possible will help reduce the likelihood of a collision. Waking up with enough time to ensure that there is enough time to eat breakfast and do makeup before getting into the car would also make driving safer. Many teenagers are just so excited to get behind the wheel that they skip over taking the time to learn how to drive safely and properly. Remembering to take your time ensuring that no bad habits are being formed and not letting others influence decisions could save lives. Showing off will never be worth it. Sharing your location with a trusted individual can also make all the difference if a collision were to occur as well as just for general safety.

My only experience in a car accident was being spun in three circles across a freeway when I was three. I don’t remember any of it, but to this day I still get butterflies in my stomach when I get onto an onramp that requires a 360 turn. I did not know why I would get that feeling until my mom told me about the accident. Last year at my school one of the girls in my class was in a fatal car crash. She had been drunk at a party and wanted to go home, but her sister wouldn’t pick her up so she tried to drive herself. I did not know Hailey but I learned a lot during this tragedy. I will never forget the absolute distraught and raw emotion all across campus that dreary morning. There wasn’t a room without someone crying in it. No learning was done that day. Most classes were just let go because everyone was in another world. Our school did a small ceremony for her, but nothing will ever make up for the life that she lost and the pain her loved ones will always be left with. The year before, another kid in my class had been in a fatal crash. He was only 17. No one knows what happened exactly, but the only reason he was found was because his parents noticed his location on LIfe360 had not moved in a while. Sharing a location can save a life.

I do not drive yet, I am in the process of taking lessons. As I learn I keep in mind people like Hailey and Ben and their families and work my hardest to be a focused and safe driver, not only for myself and my loved ones but for the people I share the road with. My mom’s best friend was killed by a driver who ran a red light. A person can be the epitome of a perfect driver and still be in danger by those who are reckless and thoughtless or even just distracted. I have learned not only to never be the person who could put people in danger because of my driving but also to never let someone else be that person either. Hailey’s sister will regret that decision for the rest of her life. I intend to make myself available to others to ensure that they do not feel that they are in the potion to drive when it is unsafe to do so.