America Needs To Step it Up!

America
Needs to Step it Up!

 

When
I was six years old, one of my parents was driving my brothers and I
home in the snow and the car spun out almost hitting the light post.
It wouldn’t have happened, if they weren’t drunk. I remember
feeling such fear that I understood what my parents meant when they
said “don’t ever drink alcohol” because alcohol never made me
feel safe, and seeing it mixed with driving, traumatized me. I
wouldn’t want any child to have to have to go through that. 

 

In
2018, one person was killed every fifty minutes due to drunk drivers.
That’s why it should be talked about more, and not taken lightly.
There should be signs inside and outside restaurants, bars, on
billboards, in liquor stores, and on liquor products that strongly
discourage drinking and driving.

 

That
is just one step that needs to be taken to help reduce traffic
deaths. Another is, utilizing our public transit. I’m 18, and I use
public transit. I get bullied for not owning a car, because where I
live it shows that I’m low-income, but actually riding a bus
reduces fatal car accidents by half. Which is why it should be used
more. We should also change road designs and have more speed bumps in
areas where drivers don’t follow the speed limit and, most
importantly, around school zones, children, and bike riders. We
should also enforce safety regulations, such as wearing a seatbelt
and focusing on the road while driving, through billboard ads, road
signs, and even social media. It has been shown that mass media
campaigns have a greater effect on behavior when linked with
enforcement and educational activities, such as drivers ed.

 

 In
New Zealand, young drivers undergo a three-staged process,
(supervised learning period, intermediate license and full-privilege
license) which, as of 2019, has decreased the number of hospitalized
teens by 23%. Which is why, America needs to step it up! As of 2019,
60% of Americans think the driver’s test is designed to be passed,
not to actually test the driver’s ability. I haven’t gone for my
driver license, due to financial reasons, but also because the
classes don’t teach you how to drive, they teach you driver’s
education. Which I think is very essential, but you only get two,
less than an hour, driving lessons. This is why America needs a
three-staged process. For example, road safety for two weeks,
multiple 30-45 min driving lessons for two weeks, and then the
license test. I also think high schools should provide driving
lessons, because not all students can afford to learn how to drive,
and it would not only benefit low-income students, but help all
teenagers be prepared and well-educated.

 

I
currently don’t drive, but I can still help others stay safe on the
road by voicing my opinion to my local house of representatives,
about the change that needs to be done in the testing for the
license.

Works Cited

Andrew
Small   @ASmall_Word Feed  Andrew Small is a freelance
writer in Washington. “Better Public Transit = Fewer Traffic
Deaths.” CityLab,
14 Sept. 2018,
www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/09/cities-with-more-public-transit-trips-have-fewer-road-fatalities/569857/.

Anonymous.
“Drunk Driving.” NHTSA,
17 Jan. 2020, www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.

Luke,
Nikita. “8 Ways to Reduce Road Fatalities Using the ‘Safe System’
Approach:  .” TheCityFix,
15 Oct. 2019,
thecityfix.com/blog/8-ways-to-reduce-road-fatalities-using-the-safe-system-approach-nikita-luke-anna-bray-sharpin/.

Mohn,
Tanya. “Is Drivers Ed Good Enough? Most Americans Don’t Think So.”
Forbes,
Forbes Magazine, 12 July 2019,
www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2019/07/11/is-drivers-ed-good-enough-most-americans-dont-think-so/#23aabe0c3367.