Learning How to Drive Can Save a Life

Learning How to
Drive Can Save a Life

By Danika
Eustaquio

The day had finally
come: my driver’s test. Nine long months had gone by—I practiced
my driving every day, itching for that license I’ve wanted since
the day I walked into the drivers ed room. I thought I
could learn all the rules of the road from just going out and
practicing, but it took a lot more than that: a proper driver’s
education course was the other half of the road to success. If you
know the rules of the road, you will know what to do in any
situation, big or small; sometimes, that knowledge can be the
slightest difference between life and death.

Distracted driving
has become a more prominent problem due to the technology that has
been introduced in today’s society. Our phones can be considered
useful, like playing music or replacing our GPS. However, those
additional notifications we receive and want to check can be the one
thing that can ruin our driving experiences, and even our lives.
According to carsurance.net, once a driver has been distracted it
only takes 3 seconds for a car crash to occur. One glance at your
phone could cost someone’s life. A vital step that can be taken to
reduce the number of deaths related to driving is not allowing
yourself to use your phone while driving.

A moment I will
never forget is seeing one of my best friends get into a car wreck,
right in front of my eyes. My friend went to turn left onto a two-way
street and didn’t see a car coming towards him. He was hit on the
driver’s side; fortunately, he was not physically hurt, but it was
evident that he was in shock, like the rest of us. I remember my
heart dropping to my stomach, as I realized what had happened right
in front of us. After my friend pulled into a parking lot, I got out
of the car, ran to him and hugged him as tight as I could; we all
could have lost a friend that night, but thankfully we didn’t. My
friend eventually had to go to traffic school after the accident, but
he came out as a safer and more cautious driver.

I believe being a
defensive driver allows everyone to become safer on the road. If
there aren’t people speeding and abruptly cutting people off on the
road, there are fewer chances of getting in an accident. By being a
defensive driver, you are aware of your surroundings and you aren’t
creating unsafe situations for you and others driving around you. If
every driver is a defensive driver, the roads are safer for everyone
involved.