Drive Smarter, Not Harder

People receiving driver’s education is of utmost importance, especially in today’s day and age. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that over 9,500 people died in vehicle crashes from January to March of 2022, a full 600 more casualties than the same first quarter of 2021. With the internet providing limitless free information, it can be easy for people to assume that driver’s education is pointless. If they can just look up online sites and videos on how to drive a car, then why should they waste their time taking a long class at their school in an already loaded schedule of core classes to learn the same thing? The simple truth is that just looking up the information doesn’t at all prepare people for the realities of navigating behind a car wheel. There are so many other factors that go into driving safely on the road then just learning how to operate the car itself; and on top of that, they are completely out of the driver’s control. I have seen several instances where my father or mother will be trying to drive up into a three-way cross route and a car in the other lane will just quickly drive up in front of them: practically riding the bumper of the other car ahead of us. In another instance, my dad was driving where someone was at a four-way intersection, and it looked like they’re about to drive straight only to see that they’re turning right or left; catching the other drivers as well as my dad completely off guard as the driver never used a turn signal to indicate that that was the direction that they were heading. Furthermore, when my grandfather was trying to drive my sister back to our house from the gas station, someone peeled out of a lane when they weren’t supposed to, trying to beat the yellow light and ran right into the side of my grandpa’s car; potentially maiming or even killing my innocent grandfather who was practicing smart driving as well as my younger sister. People who don’t take driver’s education or aren’t well practiced in driving a car on the road are often ignorant of the fact that they are not the only ones trying to drive places. Those people have the conception that driving for their own speed and convenience is the only thing that matters on the road; that everything else is secondary. The fact of the matter is, it only takes one driving mistake for everyone else on the road to get hurt or worse. As my anecdotes show, what other drivers choose to do while navigating the road in their vehicle hugely affects all the other people on the same road trying to do the same thing in a safe and considerate manner. Driver’s education helps to enlighten folks in the true nature of what it means to drive on the road and how to safely share the luxury of this mode of transportation with everyone else who can. Driver’s education illustrates the dangers of things like drunk driving or texting while you’re driving and can really bring to light just how damaging doing those things can be on the road while driving to people who didn’t otherwise know any better about it to that point.

In this era of modern advanced technology and innovation, it can be easy for people to become distracted by the quick and easy devices with everything they could ever want, whenever they want it, and wherever they want it right at their fingertips. This type of intense distraction, especially on the road, is incredibly dangerous. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 400 fatal crashes happen each year as a result of texting and driving. Plus, sending or reading a text message can take one’s eyes off the road for at least five seconds. If they’re driving at high speeds with that much time wasted looking down instead of what’s happening around them on the road, it could easily throw a ton of innocent drivers in harm’s way. As drivers, we could all learn to be a little more attentive, aware, considerate, and conscious of our decisions while we are on the road; and that includes stopping our habit of constantly feeling the need to check our cellular devices or do something else while behind the wheel. 20-year-old Liz Marks chillingly said in her story about texting and driving, “I ignored these warnings about texting while driving because everyone else was doing it. So, I thought it was okay. I thought I was invincible. But clearly, I was completely wrong.” All it takes is one slip for a simple drive to go incredibly wrong with life changing and/or even life ending consequences. It is essential that people take driver’s education to understand how we all together can make our easy, convenient modes of transportation safe for everyone when navigating them. Ignorance is not always bliss, especially when it comes to the road. One mistake can cost a life. For the good and, above all, safety of everyone, the next time you have to get somewhere, drive smarter, not harder.