Name: Brooke Steinmeyer Tatum
From: Norman, Oklahoma
Votes: 0
Brooke
Tatum
Drivers
Education Essay
November,
2019
The
Methods of Safe Driving
Every
time you get into a car, you have a chance of being involved in a car
accident. The risk of this car accident being fatal is also high
enough that it’s amazing anybody uses cars as a means of
transportation. You are drastically more likely to die in a car
accident than in a plane accident, however, the fear of flying is
much higher than the fear of driving. This is mainly due to the
importance of driving, especially in the United States. This value of
driving is instilled in us from an early age, where children dream of
getting their license. Even in high school, it boosts your social
status if you have the ability to drive yourself. Due to this, it’s
a naturally big topic right now as to how to make driving safer. One
of the easiest and simplest ways to make the roads a safer place is
to educate the public on driving safety. Where I live, it is
mandatory for every teenager under the age of 18 to take Drivers Ed
in order for them to receive a permit and in turn, a driver’s
license. However, past the age of 18, there is no law forcing adults
to become informed on the safe way to drive, all they have to do is
pass the driving test. It is my belief that it is important for every
single person to become informed on safe driving techniques and the
rules of the road. If everyone was taught the correct way to drive,
it would drastically decrease the number of fatal accidents that
occur every year. It is understood that accidents happened, but
simply educating the public could reduce the number of casualties
that occur due to simple mistakes.
Another
way in which the number of deaths related to driving can be decreased
is by tightening the laws around the main reasons accidents happen.
One of the biggest causes of accidents is distracted drivers by
things such as texting. If the laws surrounding texting and driving
were tightened and enforced, it would lead to people becoming less
likely to text and drive. Everyone knows that drinking and driving is
very dangerous, we should be giving the same attention to texting and
driving. I also think that there needs to be more public awareness
about the dangers of driving on only a few hours of sleep. It wasn’t
until I was sitting in a psychology lecture class this year that I
learned just how dangerous driving while sleep deprived is. If you
drive after only getting one or two hours of sleep, that is
equivalent to driving while under the influence. This is something
that needs to be shared and made known to the general public. I
should not have learned this as a seventeen-year-old, I should have
been taught this growing up.
I
have never personally been in a car accident myself, but I have seen
car accidents happen and have been affected by the outcomes. I have
an uncle who was killed in a car accident due to his mother falling
asleep at the wheel. This simple mistake caused my cousins to grow up
without a father, and for my aunt to raise two children without a
husband. Such awful accidents such as these can be avoided so easily.
Nothing is important enough to risk someone’s life over if you know
you are not capable of driving at a certain moment in time. I wish
that my uncle’s mother had known how dangerous driving while tired
was, and it is my hope that this knowledge will become more
mainstream.
As
for myself, I want to strive to pay better attention while I’m
driving. I often find myself daydreaming or listening intently to the
music on the radio, and I sometimes can’t remember driving to my
destination. I want to halt these habits before I hurt myself or
someone else. I also want to be more aware of my speed, as it’s
easy to stop checking it when you get comfortable in an area. All in
all, I think the easiest way to decrease the number of fatal car
accidents that occur every year is by increasing driving education,
tightening distracted driving laws, and encouraging people to be more
aware while they are on the road. If we were to follow all of these
suggestions, I truly do believe the streets would be a much safer
place.
