IELTS Writing Task 2: 'road safety' essay

Here's the full essay that I wrote with my students for the question below.

Some people think that strict punishments for driving offences are the key to reducing traffic accidents. Others, however, believe that other measures would be more effective in improving road safety. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

People have differing views with regard to the question of how to make our roads safer. In my view, both punishments and a range of other measures can be used together to promote better driving habits.

On the one hand, strict punishments can certainly help to encourage people to drive more safely. Penalties for dangerous drivers can act as a deterrent, meaning that people avoid repeating the same offence. There are various types of driving penalty, such as small fines, licence suspension, driver awareness courses, and even prison sentences. The aim of these punishments is to show dangerous drivers that their actions have negative consequences. As a result, we would hope that drivers become more disciplined and alert, and that they follow the rules more carefully.

On the other hand, I believe that safe driving can be promoted in several different ways that do not punish drivers. Firstly, it is vitally important to educate people properly before they start to drive, and this could be done in schools or even as part of an extended or more difficult driving test. Secondly, more attention could be paid to safe road design. For example, signs can be used to warn people, speed bumps and road bends can be added to calm traffic, and speed cameras can help to deter people from driving too quickly. Finally, governments or local councils could reduce road accidents by investing in better public transport, which would mean that fewer people would need to travel by car.

In conclusion, while punishments can help to prevent bad driving, I believe that other road safety measures should also be introduced.

(269 words, band 9)

Comments

[leah]

Thank you very much! simon! finally I got four 7! thank you!

[Ha]

Hi Simon,

I got your book and kinda stuck with the difference in use between 'sport' and 'sports'. When to use each of them? Would you please be kind enough to help me out? I'd truly be grateful!

[Tuannm]

I tried to write an essay questtion from IELTS book 2 following Simon's formula

Any comment from community is welcome.

Question: Disruptive school students have a negative influence on others. Students who are noisy and disobedient should be grouped together and taught separately. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answers and include any relevant examples from your won knowledge or experience.

Answer:

It is true that some young students tend to be noisier and more disobedient than others at schools, and this might have a harmful impact on the learning environment. However, I completely disagree that grouping and teaching them is a sensible approach to this problem.

For a variety of reasons, it would be wrong to group and teach disruptive students separately. Firstly, like society, schools and classes need diversity in terms of personality, and a rich variety of students’ personality would make a class more vivid and interesting. Secondly, if a class in which all students share the same silent and obedient character, this class would be tedious and inactive, and it is also impractical to require all students to be quiet when they are at schools. Finally, grouping disruptive students may cause them to think that they are worse or inferior to others, which obviously affects their personality later in life.

In my view, there are principal reasons why we should teach these naughty students together with others, and various ways to control them. School environment is where students not only learn from teachers but also from their peers. Playing and interacting with each other will definitely help them study and develop better. For example, students with bad behavior can learn to become good students by mimicking other student’s good behavior. Teachers should be trained to cope with difficulty students and facilitate the natural interaction among students to guide them to the positive outcome. In some cases, punishments can be necessary to ensure that the school codes of conduct are observed properly.

In conclusion, I would argue that there are various ways to controls naughty students as schools to make sure that they stay at peace and in harmony with other students.

(293 words)

[la violette]

Hi Simon ,
You often use the word (different ) " people have different views about..."
but today you used ( differing), is that a way to vary your vocabulary only or for another reason?

I liked the topic vocabulary so much:
Penalty, deterrant, fines, driving licence suspension, disciplined , safe road design, speed bumps, road bends, speed cameras.

Thanks for this well- writen essay.

[Quyen]

Thanks Simon

[Hashim]

Hello simon, here you can find my answer below and please can you score my answer? I need to take 6 band at least. Thanks..

Dear fellows, please dont hesitate to criticize and score my answer, i really need to checked by someone else..

Some people think that strict punishments for driving offences are the key to reducing traffic accidents. Others, however, believe that other measures would be more effective in improving road safety. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

Nowadays societies are arguing regarding of change their regulations on traffic and impose new laws in order to provide more deterrent articles. I believe there are quite few ways to improve traffic safety and sustain a development on the awareness of traffic rules for people.
On the one hand, people argues that goverments should put more deter legal acts to their code of traffic such as fines, taking driving licenses, seizing vehicles and even prison sentence. In this way, they will be able to prevent accidents or unsafety drives in their roads. For example when a driver violate the traffic rules for several times, administration could take him to prison. But this process has to handle really properly. First, traffic offender may pay fine and then if he consist to violate again then his vehicle may take and seized or he may go to the prison.
On the other hand, some people says that new regulations on traffic law is not a decend solution. First goverment should review driving courses and extend the studies. Secondly, children should take driving course and be familiar with traffic signs in school. Thirdly, goverments may improve the conditions of roads such as building new and secure roads and putting more attractive traffic signs.
In conclusion, both of the views has some right points which could consider as a project to reduce traffic accidents. In my opinion, goverments should impulse new and mor heavy articles into the traffic regulations and at the same time they should improve the safety on roads and provide awareness to their societys by education or advertising. ( 266 Words)

[Ashley]

Dear Simon,

I'm a regular reader of your great IELTS blog. I aim for 7 in each band and I took the test on 18th April. The result was kind of frustrated that I got only 6 for the writing, while I expected to get 7. I strictly used your techniques. I felt good after finishing the task and I believe I didn't make any big mistakes in grammar and vocabulary. I'm confused now.

But after reading and thinking about the question for serveral more times, I realised I might have made a big mistake in task reponse. The question is:

Many people now are less fit and active than those in the past, and this may endanger their health in the long term. What are the reasons? What can be done about it?

In the main body, I first discussed the reasons why people now are less fit and active and admitted that this may have bad effect on their health, and then suggested some solutions to how to encourage people to do sports more often to be healthier. Is this correct? My question is: Which statement should I give reasons to? Why people are less fit and active or why this may be harmful to their health? If it's the former one, how should I address the sentence 'and this may endanger their health in the long term'?

Thanks for your great job all the time.

Ashley

[sjm]

Ashley

Remember, it is extremely common to receive a poor score in Task 1. In fact, Task 1 scores are often lower than Task 2 scores as the penalties are more severe.

In that essay question, the second statement is a consequence of the first. As long as your reasons and solutions result in improving people's health then your approach is basically ok. Task response does also include other factors such as overgeneralising so you might be limited to a 6 for another reason.

[Jay Patel]

Ashley,

This is very good question and I hope it would be helpful if Simon can throw some light.

I completely agree with sjm that the best bet to get 7 band is as many points one can achieve in Task accomplishment. I always feel that I am average in grammar and okay in vocabulary and coherence and cohesion. Therefore, the only way to score 7 for me is to get high score in Task accomplishment so that on average it can lift my score.

Do follow the note of Simon about how to approach any essay. Where he mentioned steps to follow.

One of them is to spend time in understanding question and then keep looking at the question while you finish your paragraph. This would ensure that you are not writing out of scope.

Therefore read the question 3-5 times until you are absolutely clear about the topic. Underline the key words and then decide your scope of essay.

This may take 2-5 minutes but believe me, it's worth spending. In my view, it is the best deal as you can cover 25% of your score in just 3-5 minutes.

[Natasha Nguyen]

Hi Simon,
I would like to make some changes in these two sentences because I think they are a little bit not linked to each other.
your writing: "Penalties for dangerous drivers can act as a deterrent, meaning that people avoid repeating the same offence. There are various types of driving penalty, such as small fines, licence suspension, driver awareness courses, and even prison sentences."
my edit of yours: "Penalties for dangerous drivers can act as a deterrent, meaning that people avoid repeating the same offence. Such types of these driving penalties could range widely from small fines, license suspension to driver awareness courses, or even an imprisonment".
what do you think of my changes? Is there any mistakes of vocabulary or grammar? :)

[sjm]

I'll also add that candidates are not good judges of their accuracy. The GR score of 7 requires 'frequent error free sentences', which means that a 7 needs around half of their sentences to be error free. This is difficult to achieve.

Natasha

There are many ways to 'link' sentences. It is important not to look at two sentences in isolation - you have to look at how the other parts of the essay are linked and whether there is variation. From an assessment point of view, there is no difference between your version and Simon's (except of course that yours contains errors...)

[Jing]

Hi Tuannm,

Thank you for the topic. I like your writing. In my opinion, your writing is fluent and natural. However, for me, your first and second reasons for teaching them in the mainstream classroom are the same, which is 'the diversity of pupils' characters'.

Here is my version opposite to yours:

There are controversial views regarding the best way to deal with disruptive students at school. It has been suggested that defiant children should be streamed in a separate classroom. I completely agree with this proposal.

There are several reasons why disruptive children should be segregated from the main class. Firstly, lessons can only be delivered in a harmonious environment. Noisy students can be regarded as attention seekers, who attract most teachers' attention in the classroom. Meanwhile, other students find it hard to concentrate on learning during constantly disrupted lessons. As a result, teachers have to focus too much on those protestants and slow down teaching progress. It would be unfair for pupils who are keen on learning and well behaved in the classroom, but have not be given enough attention that they deserve. Secondly, children are easily influenced by the environments surrounding them. Disruptive children in the classroom will set bad role models for the others, and have a negative impact on others' behaviour. Others may regard the disruptive behaviour is acceptable and is the way to draw teachers' attention.

It can be perceived that the mixture of bad students will reinforce their misbehaviour during lessons. I will argue that right settings and motivation in class may inspire them to compete for the best behaviour. Another dispute could be that grouping them into a naughty category may lose their sel-esteem and confidence, and this will turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, I would argue that different ways to teach disruptive students from the mainstream class may emphasized their strengths and inspire their learning at their own paces. Therefore, they may achieve higher grades in separate environments than those mixed with well behaved students.

In conclusion, the long-going issue of coping with defiant students at school may be resolved by separating them into a class specially equipped to meet their very own needs.
...............

Open to comments and criticism. Thank you

[Vicky]

does anyone know what is the difference between 'with regard to' and 'in regard to'? or if I could simply use 'on' in the first sentence like 'people have differing views on the question of...'?

Thanks Simon or if anyone knows

[Vicky]

Hi 'la violette',

I had the same question so I tried google. The following answer is the most 'local' explanation in my opinion. Hope this helps:

He and I have different opinion on this.
His opinion is different from mine, however his opinion may not have any connection or impact on my opinion. There may be no sense of agreement or disagreement. We both may think in independent directions. We both may be right at the same time.

He and I have differing opinion on this.
His opinion is different from mine, and his opinion is in contrast to my opinion. We think in the opposite directions. What is right to me is wrong to him.

[Kellen]

Hi Simon.

I have read your post from time to time. but it is first time to say- glad to meet you. I tried to write down with my own words. If you can give me a small feedback, I would appreciate that.

Here is my essay for same question:

There are a lot of challenges in order to reduce traffic accidents since individuals have accesses to own transports. Some people argue that punishments by police department in any forced way would affect drivers to be more careful about, others refute that it is more crucial to improve road safety for convenience of everyone. Personally, I completely agree with the statement that the importance of revised road rules.

As commonly known, some people could be afraid of payment and disqualification due to driving offence because it often takes long time to pay off and also the situation makes hassle to commute for their work. However, it could be temporary option by catching few offensive drivers as an example for less accident. Looking at current news, it happened because of complicated reasons such as a drinking, high speeding relatively and so on.

While, it is beneficial to improve the road safety system by analysing records in terms of recent car accident. According to recent news, some people cannot adopt frequent changes of road rules, for example, road signs which cause confusion or distraction of driving. Thus, it requires more time to examine hugely extensive reasons of the accidents though; it is worthy to help individuals recognize road standard and responsibility for others and living things on roads if we consider it on long term basis.

Most police department around the world fortifies to impose fines or imprisonments in terms of driving offences every day to manipulate potential accidents. However, I believe that the essence of road safety system is vital than short-term punishments.

Thank you.

[Tuannm]

Hi Jing,

I love your version too. It is full of relevant ideas (312 words), I doubt that we cannot haldle that well in the exam condition, though.

[Jing]

Tuannm,

Thank you. I completely agree with you that we can not function well under the test condition. I remembered that I did have a good idea for the writing task 2 at the split second during my last test. Unfortunately, I could not go back my idea after a noisy ambulance went past the exam center. I was totally stressed and lost.

[Simon]

FROM SIMON:

A few people noticed that I wrote "differing views" instead of "different views". The meaning is basically the same - I just did this to show you another option.

[la violette]

Thanks Simon for your explanation.

Vicky thank you.

[son beo]

Hello ha
As far as I know, we have to use "sports" in front of a NOUN (not "sport") such as sports car, sport shoes, and sports team.

[Tuan]

Hi Jing,

How is the bandscore of your Writing last time?

Just curious because I think you write too well

[Jimmy]

Hi Simon

You wrote in this topic as follows:
"driving too quickly"

Is it correct to write
"driving too fast"?

Jimmy

[Mabrouka]

Hi simon,
I would like to thank you so much This website. You have no idea how much you helped me to tackle my writing issues.

Please I wish that you help me with this confusing essay question:

Many charity organizations are asking people for money nowadays.
What are the causes of this, and what can be done to change the situation?

Thank you in advance.

[Jing]

Hi Tuan,

Thank you for your compliment. My score was 7.0 in my last test (March 2015).

[SanjaSt]

Hi Simon,

I don't understand one is meant by the term traditional culture in this question:

It is inevitable that as technology advances, traditional cultures will be lost. It seems that we cannot have these two things together.
To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Can you give me an example?
Thanks

[Tuannm]

Congratulate Jing. It's realy good bandscore that I target to. I think I'm going to take my first IELTS sometime in July

[bing]

Hi Simon,

It is the first time that I post my writing here, although I always read others before. A little bit excited.

It will be highly appreciated if you could give some comments on the following essay.

Dear fellows, any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Some people think that strict punishments for driving offences are the key to reducing traffic accidents. Others, however, believe that other measures would be more effective in improving road safety. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion.

If people turn on radio to listen to some traffic information, they surely can hear all kinds of bizarre traffic accidents, most of which are caused by some careless or offensive drivers. Therefore, some argue that more strict rules or fine should be enforced to reduce the traffic accidents. While other people think that some other actions are more effective. In my view, strict punishment is just one way to address the road safety issue, more measures should be worked out to minimizing road accidents.

First, the stringent rules and regulations on road safety play an irreplaceable role in our modern society, particularly for the drivers who have offensive behaviors when they are driving on the road. For example, in some countries, like China, there is some kind of traffic law stating that when driver runs the red light, the fine is 200 RMB (about 30$). The fine is relatively low compared to some developed nations; therefore, some drivers do not care about the money and commit offences, which is likely to incur traffic accident. But if the punishment was increased to 6000 RMB ( about 1000$), it would be a deterrent to most of such drivers.

It is also true that strict punishments can not solve all the road safety issues. From my personal experience, I would like to say that some roads are too narrow to accommodate so many vehicles, which definitely causes traffic jams during rush hours. For such case, to guarantee the road safety, the most promising approach is to widen the roads or build more roads to alleviate the pressure on such narrow roads. Another measure come to mind is that more road safety guidance or trainings from government should be introduced to all participants on road, which can bring all fellow citizens fully aware of the importance of the road safety and inevitably reduce the traffic accidents on the road.

In sum, governments and authorities should shoulder the responsibilities to investigate the reasons why so many people violate the laws or rules, and according to the investigation results to make some more effective measures. Only by doing so, can both individuals and society as whole will be better off in the long run.

[Sana]

I am going to give my IELTS Academic exam for speaking on 15th may and for (list,reading,writing) on 16th of may i am really very nervous can u guys help me please... I live in Kuwait (UTC+3:00) .my email is ([email protected])

[Tuannm]

Hi Binh,

I have few commennts as follows

1. Your essay is quite long (369 words). Normally, the longer the essay is, the more time it will take, especially in the exam condition.

2. Both intro and conclusion are long. This is not Simon's style. You should shorten them (2 sentence for intro, and 1 sentence for conclusion are enough)

There are some grammar problems. For example the following sentences in the intro are incorrect

While other people think that some other actions are more effective. In my view, strict punishment is just one way to address the road safety issue, more measures should be worked out to minimizing road accidents.

Hope you find this help

[bing]

Thank a lot, Tuannm.
I see your points, because I seldom practiced on laptop, so I did not notice that the words account before I completed it. And certainly, it took too much time.

As to the grammar issue you pointed out, I changed the sentences to the following

While other people think that some other actions are more effective. In my view, strict punishments are just one way to address the road safety issue, and more measures should be worked out to minimize road accidents.

I appreciate your help very much.

[Tuannm]

Hi Binh,

While other people think that some other actions are more effective => this is not a complete sentence, and it needs to other part to form a sentence. I suggest that you joint both sentence together as follows

While other people think that some other actions are more effective, in my view, strict punishment is just one way to address the road safety issue, and more measures should be introduced to minimize road accidents.

[salah]

hi simon
why u wrote [[ I believe that safe driving can be promoted in several.....]] altought the qution is argumentive not opinion

[karla]

hi guys! i'm new here. can you please grade my essay thank you. i also hope simon can give his comment or grade me in my essay.

Advertising is all around us, it is an unavoidable part of everyone’s life. Some people say that advertising is a positive part of our lives while others say it is a negative one. Discuss both views and include your own opinion. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. You should write at least 250 words.

It is true that advertisements plays a big role in our daily life. However, people say that it has a lot of advantages in their lives while others think the opposite way. I believe that it can help make our lives easier if we use it in a nice way.

Billboards, commercials, flyers, magazines, the Internet and many more are forms of advertisement strategies. Through this things people will be able to get updated with the latest trends or sale in the market industry. Consumers will know when and where to buy this products e.g. clothing, food, gadgets. It can also help people regarding employment through job fair, seminars where they can have the opportunity to get employed by a company or institution.

On the other hand, there are some bad effects to advertising. Instead of purchasing something that we need, individuals tend to buy things they only want. Females are more prone to become impulsive buyers because they get easily attracted with the products shown in Television or magazines. They spent money on things that are not really necessary. Children are also easily influenced by commercials where they get interested in toys and games they see in the Internet or TV. They give so much importance to this things rather focusing on their studies.

In conclusion, advertisements have both good and bad aspects. We get insights about almost everything through advertising. It is up to the person how he reacts to what he sees as long as it will have a positive impact on his life.

[Tian]

Hi simon,
i feel confused of this sentence :"here are various types of driving penalty" I think 'penalties' here is more proper.

[Simon]

Hi Tian,

"types of penalty" is correct. It's like when we say "meat and vegetables are types of food" (not "foods").

[Kanako]

Thanks for all your help, Simon sensei!
Im glad to find your blog :)

I have two questions in your essay.
Firstly, why you begin with 'on the other hand' in the second paragraph? When i discuss both views and i begin with that trasitional expression, would it be more clear on my view? What if i begin with "without a doubt" or even without any conjunction.
Secondly, my instructer always say 'avoid to repeat the same word in the essay" From that view, repeating the words "on the other hands" in the beginning of both main paragraphs are remarkable obviously. Or you are meant to do that? What do you think?

If its difficult to read, because of my poor writing skill, i am sorry!
Anyway, thank you for your blog. Your tips are always helpful!

[Simon]

Hi Kanako,

I started paragraph 2 with "On the ONE hand", and then I used "On the OTHER hand" in paragraph 3. Maybe you misread them, because it seems that you saw the word "other" in both paragraphs.

It's very normal to use "On the one hand / On the other hand" when discussing contrasting views in English.

It's fine to use a different word or phrase, or even no phrase, to start your paragraphs.

Be careful with the advice about not repeating the same word - this aim is rarely possible, and it sometimes causes students to use very strange or unnatural 'synonyms' (e.g. don't use ten different synonyms for the word 'people'). Often it's important to repeat key words from the question to show that you are addressing the question properly.

[Kanako]

Hi Simon,
Thanks your helpful explanation, I started used this phrases recently :) By the way, today i got IELTS score for the first time- it was less than my expectation, especially in writing :( BUT! I gonna keep studying with your blog over and over during summer, and get the high score on September!! Hopefully ^^*

Best Regards,
Kanako

[Fahad]

Please evaluate IELTS essay and point out erros and mistakes.

Traffic accident have dramatically increased over the last few years, which is very alarming and thought provoking situation, some people argue that traffic offender should be greatly punished by imposing heavy fines and jailing them in prison,. Other state that the rate of accident could be slow down by implementing various safety measures, which are discussed below.

Firstly, government should define a speed limit for different vehicles, while traveling inter-city and outer city. Moreover a mechanism should be implemented to monitor speed of the vehicle on the busiest part of the city. This can be done by installing cameras and linked it to then server of monitoring team. Furthermore, safety belts could save from severe injury in case of accident, should be mandatory to put on.

Secondly, there should be periodic inspection of the vehicles every year by the authorize workshops of the government. Only passed vehicles are allowed to come on streets, violation of this rule could cause fine and prison simultaneously. Meanwhile government should tighten the procedure of getting driving license, a driving and computer test should be introduced to test the practical and oral knowledge about traffic rules and regulation.

Thirdly, government should educate their people about rules and regulation of the traffic, if anyone found guilty of breaking rules should be dined. Offender could also be sent to jail depends on the type of the offense. Lastly, if individual continue to violate rules, driving license of offender should be canceled immediately and impose a life ban on driving.

Finally, I believe that traffic issues could be solved by identifying problems and their solutions. By using latest technology we can overcome traffic problem immensely.

[Sadaf]

please score my essay and tell me mistakes

Now a days, the role of women have changed significantly in this competitive wotld. Today, the married women not only have to manage their home but also work with their male counterparts to earn for their family. Some people are of the opinion that this changed role has created some dilemmas. The children are indulging in illegal activities is one such problem because of the lack of attention from parents. I totally disagree that mothers are solely responsible for child act.
To begin with, female participating in job market is due to the need of the family. Everything has become so expensive that to support family from single income is a difficult task. For example, in America, the effects of 9/11 event are severe. The level of income has decreased, whereas, the expenditure are doubled. Therefore, it is clear that mothers's spending less time at home is the opportunity cost to support the family.
The children are the responsibility of either parent. Therefore, imposing onus on mothers is not justified. Moreover, in countries where female partner is not engaged in professional work is also experiencing similar predicaments. For instance, in my country, mothers are considered as responsible for managing home and taking care of children, still, large number of teenagers are involved in some sort of illegal practice. Hence, it is apparent that females are not the reason behind juveline delinquency.

[Sadaf]

In conclusion, the revised nature of income and expenditure in most part of the world have changed the position of women, that is spending few hours at home. Even then, blaming mothers for youngster behavior is not fair. Also, this situation has not changed in areas where women do not work. Therefore, working women is not the factor of adolescent involvement in unlawful activities.

[Sadaf]

Please score my essay and need suggestion to improve
The position of women has changed in the last twenty years. Some of the problems that young people face today such as juveline delinquency is due to the fact that women are working. To what extend do you agree or disagree

Nowadays , the role of women HAS changed significantly in this competitive WORLD. Today, the married women not only have to manage their home but also work with their male counterparts to earn for their family. Some people are of the opinion that this changed role has created some dilemmas. INDULGING OF CHILDREN in illegal and Immoral activities is such A problem because of the lack of attention from parents. I totally disagree that mothers are solely responsible for child act.
To begin with, female participating in THE job market is due to the need of the family. Everything has become so expensive to support family from single income, WHICH is a difficult task. For example, in America, the effects of 9/11 event are severe. The level of income has decreased, whereas, the expenditure IS doubled. Therefore, it is clear that mother's spending less time at home is the opportunity cost to support the family.
Children are the responsibility of either parent. Therefore, imposing onus on mothers is not justified. Moreover, in countries where THE female partner is not engaged in professional work WHICH is also experiencing similar predicaments. For instance, in my country, mothers are considered as responsible for managing home and taking care of children, still, large number of teenagers are involved in some sort of illegal practice. Hence, it is apparent that females are not the reason behind juvenile delinquency.

In conclusion, the revised nature of income and expenditure in most part of the world HAS changed the position of women, that is spending few hours at home. Even then, blaming mothers for YOUNGSTER'S behavior is not fair. Also, this situation has not changed in areas where women do not work. Therefore, working women is not the factor of adolescent involvement in unlawful activities.

[seema]

Wild animals hv no importance in the 21 st century. So protecting them is waste of time.do you agree or disagree.
Ans.

The notion seems to be controvertial that wild animals do not play any crucial role in humans lifein this modern era and we should not save them. I completely disagree with the statement.

Please chek my introduction is fine or NT...

Seema.

[Cheri Hsu]

Hi,Simon:
I have a question of grammar from your essay:
What does the different between 'safer'and'more safely'?
Does the phase of meaning "to encourage people to drive more safely" the same as "to encourage people to drive safer"?

I am looking forward to your response,thank you.

Cheri Hsu

[Simon]

Hi Cheri,

With the verb 'drive' you really need the adverb 'safely'. If you have a noun, you can use 'safer' e.g. "my new car is safer than my old one".

[nina]

Some people believe that the government should introduce vigorous driving punishments in order to reduce the bad driving and therefore reduce the street accidents. While I support this idea, I would argue that other action can be taken to tackle this problem.
In the one hand, punishment is an effective way to solve the issue of high-rate street accidents. For instance, the small fines are one way that really helps to deter the people from bad driving and breaking the road laws. Other penalties can be prison sentence and license suspension. With these penalties, people will be more careful and consider following the rules better.
On the other hand, road safety can be increased in several other ways. Firstly, government should introduce new laws about the use of driving belts. For instance, in my country, the number of accidents has been decreased dramatically since wearing a belt has been compulsory for the drivers. Secondly, the reduction in traffic congestion can help with fewer number of cars and automobiles on the streets. This can be done through encouraging people to use the public transport. If there is a safe, comfortable and cheap public transport systems, such as buses and trains, people prefer to use them rather than driving their own private cars. This will lead to lower accidents on the roads. Finally, people should be educated how to drive safely.
In conclusion, while the rigorous punishments may lead to safer roads and streets, I also believe that other steps should be taken to improve the road safety and reduce the car accidents on the streets.

[Kevin]

People have different views about curbing the occurrence of the traffic collision. In my opinion, the best scenario is to enforce a severe punishment on law violators, even though there are some voices that other approaches would be more useful.

On the one hand, some people think other solution could prevent drivers from breaking the rules. Firstly, citizens could be educated to be aware of the importance of careful driving through the role-playing practice, speeches, and case studies. Secondly, a well-organized transport system in cities is significant as well. For example, the improvement of the public transport, the rising parking fee, and the creation of the pedestrian-only zone are good examples of mitigating the tension between cars and cities. Finally, some rules could be initiated to prevent other accident-prone factors, such as the abandon of alcohol sales after 7 pm every night, and the limited supply of alcohol for every customer in the bars or restaurants.

On the other hand, I agree with the standpoint that a severe punishment is the most feasible solution. The main reason is that those people who intentionally break the traffic rule do not care about the negative effect whether it is too little or the law is rarely executed. Suspended driver license, longer prison sentences, higher fines, additional training could raise the cost of law violation that drivers will be more cautious on the road. For example, the unprecedented road safety in Singapore is largely attributed to the harsh punishment on every law breaker. So, enforcing a strict punishment could give people a warning signal that the government is taking a tough line on the traffic issue.

In conclusion, I think any other method would not be as effective as enacting a severe punishment to mitigate the happening of traffic accidents.

[arnoldzhen]

People have different views about how to improve road safety. In my opinion, governments could take measures like stricter driving test to prevent traffic accidents, and at the same time heavy punishment for offenders is equally useful to address this issue.

On the one hand, there are two ways that the police could take to reduce dangers on road. Firstly, police officers could impose stricter rules on the standard of issuing driver license. In China, for example, the test for driver license has become more and more difficult. It is argued that increased awareness of safety by new drivers leads to lower car accident rate. Secondly, new technology could be helpful to promote driving safety. For example, some high-end cars have been equipped with distance sensors which could raise alarm and stop the car automatically when the car comes too close with surrounding objects.

On the other hand, I believe that heavy price paid by lawbreakers is also a good way to decrease traffic accident rate. People will change their behavior when they realize the bad consequence of their illegal action. For example, Chinese government had adopted strong rules against alcoholic drivers. Violators will be sent to prison if they are tested above a certain level of alcohol. As a result, many people do not drive any more after drinking, and the car accidents of such kind have gone down dramatically. In my view, stricter laws would be seen just as important as other measures to deter offences.

In conclusion, while increased difficulty for driver license test and new safety technology could help to make us feel secure on the road, stricter punishment for breaking the law is also an effective measure.

[Mali Jitendra]

I am student of Ielts .. ! I want some tips for academic module writing and reading

[seema]

Hello.
in this sentence:
"more attention could be paid to safe road design"
shouldn't we have a verb after "to" ?

Thanks.