Name: Alicia Sylvester
From: Fairborn , Ohio
Votes: 140
Driving–
the thing we look forward to our whole life. Being a responsible
driver is one of the most important things to learn as a young adult.
The leading cause of death for teens is motor vehicle accidents. This
is why it is crucial for everyone who is getting their license to
take a driving education class. Whether this class is online or in
the classroom, every student is open to a thorough explanation of
rules and laws of the road. When you take steps to be informed, you
are taking steps toward being a more confident and well-versed
driver. This leads to further understanding of laws as well as
maintaining the information that is learned during drivers ed. In
turn, this creates a greater number of informed drivers on the road
which means less deaths. In the last few years many communities
around me have been deeply affected by a lack of safe driving. It has
had a huge impact on quite a few of my friends as well as neighboring
cities. Now people are more aware of the importance they have when
they get behind the wheel. I’ll never forget when in 6th grade, a
mother who had lost a son to a car accident case and spoke to my
health class. To this day I still think about the struggles that she
and her family had gone through when they suffered that great loss.
We must keep informing the young drivers by sharing experiences and
telling your friends “no” when they want to do something unsafe.
This is just the beginning of a change. One thing I try to do as
often as I can is make sure everything is buckled up before I switch
my gear to drive. Another great tip is to make a playlist of your
favorite songs so that way you can turn it on shuffle and not have to
worry about changing music during your drive. If you see a friend or
family member doing something unruly while driving, simply ask them
to stop. Explain to them that they are putting not only themselves at
risk, but you as well. By paying attention to others on the road and
being a defensive driver, you can save yourself and others. Snapchat,
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook posts CAN wait. Luckily I have never
experienced being in a car accident and I hopefully I never am.
Seeing the way it has negatively affected many friends and family
scares me to even remotely go through something like that. Driving
must be taken seriously. It is a privilege to drive. Make it a goal
for yourself to practice safe driving skills. Try not to get
distracted by friends, leave your phone alone, pay attention to what
is happening in front of you, and remember to drive like your life
depends on it– because it does.
