Name: Mark Wolf
From: Columbus, Ohio
Votes: 0
Driving a car is typically taken very lightly and not thought of as
being very dangerous. However, it’s simple physics, a large
thousand-pound object traveling at high speeds has a lot of momentum
and can do a lot of damage. The responsibility of being a safe driver
shouldn’t be taken lightly especially knowing the fact that over
30,000 people are killed each year as a result of driving. I believe
drivers ed is very important in increasing safe driving rates
and decreasing the number car accidents. Drivers ed serves to
teach young drivers how to drive safely and the consequences of
unsafe driving. It is necessary for not only all drivers, but for all
passengers to understand how big of a responsibility driving a car
is. Therefore, drivers ed should be required curriculum for
all students in school before the age of 16. This would give
everyone, even people that won’t get their licenses, an
understanding of how to be safe as a passenger and how to be a better
driver.
Overall traffic
related fatalities in the U.S. are lower than they were in previous
decades; however, they are still higher than they could be. While
this statistic will never reach zero, I believe that there are steps
that we can take to decrease these numbers. Increasing the difficulty
of obtaining a driver’s license would decrease the rate of traffic
related fatalities. One way to increases the difficulty of obtaining
a license would be a longer road test. A longer test would give the
BMV a better understanding of the driver’s ability and allow them
to make a better judgement an if the driver is safe for the roads.
Unfortunately, I
have had a couple of experiences with car accidents. The thing that
they all had in common was lack of awareness of the surroundings of
the car. I believe that this comes with experience in driving and
knowing the space between cars. This issue could be solved by
requiring more driving time with an adult driver before being able to
get a driver’s license. Also, in these situations distracted
driving could have been an issue. Looking up from a cell phone and
being fully focused on driving a car could have prevented millions of
dollars of damage and saved countless lives throughout the U.S.
As an individual it
is important for me to remember to not look at my phone while
driving. Also, it’s important for me to pay attention to everything
that’s going on especially while on a long road trip. It’s easy
to lose focus and gradually pay less attention to the road. To
increase focus, I could take more frequent breaks to rest and
switching drivers occasionally would create a safer driving
environment. It’s also important to help the driver as a passenger.
I try to point out things that the driver might not see and make sure
that the driver is focused and not distracted by their phone,
changing the radio or eating while driving.
