Brunswick High School’s Dual Enrollment English 101 course was given an assignment to write a persuasive essay about a topic of their choosing. The Garnet & Gold Gazette staff chose their top 10 editorials to publish on our site. Staff used elements of news such as proximity, reader impact, human interest, and prominence within our community to publish relevant and enticing information on our site. 

The essays chosen did an amazing job informing readers on the content and creating persuasive arguments on the chosen topics.

“If You Can’t Drive, Take an Uber”

Back into a spot. Drive in a straight line. Turn on your turn signal. How does that assess anyone’s ability to drive? I firmly believe that any given ten year year old that can reach the pedals could pass the driving test on the first try. The ease at which people can get their driver’s licenses is a huge contributor to the number of terrible drivers on the roads. These terrible drivers make the roads more complicated, and more dangerous than they have to be. Additionally, as a person that is on the road a lot, bad drivers can be very aggravating. Driving tests should be made more difficult because it will make roads more efficient, less aggravating, and much safer.

Making the driving test more difficult would make all drivers much better. Having better drivers on the road would increase the speed at which people could drive safely, because it decreases the chances of a bad driver causing an accident by not following the rules of the road. With better drivers on the road, speed limits could be increased and people could make it from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ much faster.

A common issue caused by bad drivers is “road rage”—someone driving recklessly due to being angered by someone else’s actions on the road. Road rage is a very dangerous phenomenon; road rage results in over 30 deaths a year in the United States alone (Dolman). The most common causes of road rage are a driver being cut off or almost hit. These are things normally only done by bad, or new drivers. Although these aggressive reactions to poor driving are not acceptable, eliminating bad drivers would be a big step in solving the problem.

Although improving efficiency and decreasing anger on the roads is important, the most important thing on the roads is driver’s safety. The rules of the road are designed to keep driver’s safe, but when poor drivers are not familiar with these rules, or are not inclined to follow them, problems occur. Car crashes result in over 42,000 fatalities per year (NHTSA). This means that every day someone gets a phone call that a loved one has just passed away from a car accident. Although decreasing the number of bad drivers on the road will not eliminate crashes, it will greatly reduce the number of car wrecks and driver fatalities.

Many claim that people do not have the means to learn how to drive, and it is unfair for these people to have to pass a difficult test without training. To these people I say that there are many other modes of transportation available for people that do not require a driver’s license. A bus, a taxi, an uber – all modes of transportation available to all people, regardless of their ability to drive. Feeling sorry for those that have not learned to drive is no reason to make the roads a more dangerous place.

Driving a car is not an easy thing to do, nor is it safe. There are many people that do not deserve to be trusted to operate a car. The current driving test does not do an adequate job of sorting out those people from those that are capable. In order to make drivers more efficient with their time, decrease aggressive driving, and make the roads a safer place, the driving test should be much harder, and people should be teaching their kids to drive safely before letting them out on the open road.

Works Cited

Dolman, Matthew. Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA. “30 Shocking Road Rage Statistics for Drivers.”

          Dolman Law Group, 2023, www.dolmanlaw.com/blog/road-rage-statistics/#section-2. Accessed 29 Sept.

          2023.

Media, NHTSA. “NHTSA Estimates for 2022 Show Roadway Fatalities Remain Flat After Two Years of Dramatic

          Increases.” NHTSA, 20 Apr. 2023, www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/traffic-crash-death-estimates- 

          2022#:~:text=The%20National%20Highway%20Traffic%20Safety,42%2C939%20fatalities%20

          reported%20for%202021. Accessed 29 Sept. 2023.