Name: Riley Michael Salmon
From: Tampa, FL
Votes: 0
All
Around Me Are Familiar Places
I
can’t wait to drive! Those are the words every teenager utters when
they are getting their drivers license. However, once they get the
license many of them realize that driving is a bigger responsibility
than they initially thought. Many of my friends and peers do not know
the proper road rules or even how to put wiper fluid in their own
car. For these reasons, I believe that drivers ed is the most
important thing for teenagers and new drivers to learn when they
decide to pursue a driver’s license. Knowing when you have the
right of way at a four way stop or how merging lanes work on a
highway is the difference between getting into a car collision that
could result in fatalities and not. Every single day on my way to or
from my high school I saw a car accident on the highway. Cars that
were smashed, ripped apart, and people crying on the side of the road
plague my memory whenever I recall my car rides home. However, the
most vivid thing I remember from driving is seeing all those white
painted flower bed graves known as Memorial Markers to commemorate
those who lost their lives in vehicle related accidents. Some of
these Memorial Markers had victims as young as 16 years old, these
victim’s families had just lost their child before they even had
the chance to grow up and go to college. These are the incidents that
hit me the hardest growing up because I was 16 years old when I saw
them. What can be done to reduce or even prevent future car
accidents? I believe that there are two significant things that can
be implemented to make the roads safer for everyone. According to the
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, the highest fatalities rates occur
in those 16-17 and 80+ years of age. The first proposition involves
the creation of better drivers ed courses and tests. The
problem with current student driver courses is that they use a timer
on the information pages to prevent students from clicking through
the course. Instead of the timers encouraging students to read the
information, students will look at their phones while waiting for the
timer to run out. Creating engaging driving courses that periodically
quiz the reader will cause them to retain road law and safety
information more effectively. The second proposition is that a
uniform policy be implemented across states for the renewal
requirements for senior and older drivers because of aging health
problems such as failing eyesight. Depending on the state, the
renewal requirements for older drivers vary greatly. States like
Florida, Arizona, and others implement a set of regulations that
require the elderly to pass vision tests regularly each time they
renew their driver’s license. With these propositions put into
action, I believe that fatality rates will decrease significantly. I
want future teenagers to be able to proudly say “I’m glad I can
drive!”
