Eyes on the Road

Adelaide
Phillips

Eyes
on the Road

Every
year nearly 1.25 million people die in car accidents. That’s 3,287
people every day. The scary thing is that these aren’t accidents.
Texting while driving isn’t an accident; it’s knowingly putting
everyone around you at risk to send a three-letter text. Driving over
the speed limit isn’t an accident; it’s knowingly putting everyone
around you at risk just to go faster. These so-called “accidents”
happen every day and are preventable. Drivers ed doesn’t just
teach teens how to drive; it teaches them how to be responsible when
driving.

Distracted
driving is the top cause of vehicle-related deaths. It almost sounds
stupid to say since one would think that when driving, all you should
be doing is driving. Not on your phone, not eating, not blasting
music, driving. Nevertheless, teens still think they are invincible
when it comes to operating a two-ton machine. The importance of
drivers ed as it pertains to distracted driving is one of the
most crucial elements of being a new driver. Drivers ed
teaches that the mentality of “I’m young; I’m not going to die”
is irrelevant when learning to drive. However, no matter how many
videos of car crashes are shown in the classroom, there will always
be some people who will continue their ways. There needs to be a more
intense approach to solving this problem like a program in all phones
that disables social media, texts, and other notifications
automatically when driving. There is no way to stop distracted
driving altogether, but there can be ways to reduce the number of
deaths related to it each year.

Speeding.
Almost every driver is guilty of it. I know I am. That one familiar
road where you know the police hide. Where you know, it’s never busy.
Where you thought I could go a little faster. But when does a little
faster stop? At fifty, at sixty? Or when you crash. While I have
never been in a crash related to speeding, I know plenty of people
who have been. Drivers ed can help with this because it trains
people to know that you don’t gain anything from speeding. You’ll get
to your destination eventually, do you want to jeopardize your safety
and those around you just to get there quicker? There have been times
where I just wanted to get home as fast as possible. But I’ve learned
to stop and think that I shouldn’t accelerate at the risk of others.
Speeding can cloud people’s perception with thrill and excitement;
slowing down and accessing your actions will clear your judgment and
provide a safer environment for everyone.

Driver
education provides you with the tools to prevent these problems and
make you a responsible driver. By bettering your habits, you’re
already reducing the number of driving-related deaths each year. The
goal is to get that number to zero, and although that may seem
impossible, drivers ed is going to help get it there.