Name: Michael Thomas Morrissey
From: Portsmouth, Rhode Island
Votes: 0
Every
teen and young adult’s driving career begins with drivers ed.
This course is a critical for understanding how to properly and
safely operate an automobile. Drivers ed provides fundamental
knowledge for navigating public roads, abiding by traffic laws, and
operating a vehicle responsibly. This valuable information is taught
to adolescents to promote safe driving and hopefully reduce the
likelihood of someone being involved in a collision. Vehicle crashes
happen quite frequently across the country. Unfortunately, many of
which result in the loss of life. The National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration reported that 37,461 people were killed in vehicle
crashes in 2016, and 3 years later, the numbers continue to rise.
With more young drivers on the road, drivers ed is critical in
teaching safe driving habits, so people can get to where they need to
be without putting themselves in danger. People often have the “it
won’t happen to me” mentality when it comes to vehicle
collisions. But even if one practices safe driving techniques, that
does not always protect themselves from the reckless drivers who
share the same roads. An unexpected serious injury of death resulting
from a car crash can be devastating to everyone involved: victims,
their families, and the drivers.
Several steps can be taken to
reduce driving related deaths and promote safe driving. While the
nature or circumstances of incidents on the roads vary, several
vehicle collisions and crashes are caused by similar reasons. One of
the most prevalent causes of vehicle incidents is distracted driving.
In the past decade, cell phones caused a surge in distracted driving,
often due to texting. The human brain cannot divide its full
attention to the road and the phone at the same time. This leaves
drivers who text dangerous and vulnerable. Society needs to place
stronger emphasis on the dangers of texting and driving and inform
drivers that whatever text they received is not worth risking their
life or livelihood for. However, phone usage goes beyond texting I
often find myself answering phone calls or looking at my phone to
change a song. While these may seem more subtle and harmless then
texting, they have a similar effect and can take away one’s focus
from the road. Another form of distracted driving that I often find
myself exposed to is caused by having several people in the car.
Common amongst teens and young adults, a small crowd packed in
someone’s car may seem entertaining, but that’s why it can be
dangerous. The excitement and social aspect of friends in the car
together may limit the drivers’ ability to focus. While I have
never been in a crash, I have been exposed to people driving
irresponsibly. When I know of friends who do not focus completely on
driving when with a group, I often volunteer to drive since I trust
my ability to focus on the road. This has taught me the importance of
safe driving and how distracted driving can put people in harm’s
way.
