Defense Driving is the Safest Driving

Hello,
my name is Francesca Jaubert and I am a driver. Being a driver is a
privilege that requires attentiveness, cautiousness, and knowledge of
driving norms. Many drivers take for granted their license, and they
think that if there aren’t any cops around, or if the flow of traffic
isn’t heavy, that they can drive recklessly. If people didn’t
think selfishly and thought about how their driving affected others,
I would have never been in an accident. On this last Martin Luther
King Day, January 20th, my mother was driving us to my brother’s
soccer practice. She and I had just got out of work and we were going
to meet my dad and my other siblings there. We weren’t in a rush,
just going down the highway and chatting, when all of a sudden we got
hit by a car from behind going over 100 mph. It was a man driving
home from work. He was in a rush. To get home. Instead of taking an
extra 5 minutes and driving the speed limit, he drove recklessly and
totaled our car as well as causing us injuries that affect us to this
day still; two months later. I understand that when people first get
their license, they need to take courses in order to acquire their
licenses. But if we were to require as a nation that every decade,
drivers get reevaluated in a similar fashion, I am certain that it
would help lower the number of accidents we see in this country. That
is because educating drivers with proper education is the most
important factor in reducing deaths as a result of driving. But until
that is done, we as drivers just need to make sure we are being safe,
and driving defensively to hopefully account for those who are not.
My mother didn’t see the man who was drifting between cars at high
speeds behind us, but maybe next time she won’t have to because he
will be driving responsibly.