Driver Education Initiative – In the Driver’s Seat

Alexis
Thomas-Fitzgerald

October
13, 2019

In
the Driver’s Seat

As
boring as it may sound, sitting in a class with unfamiliar people and
reading lengthy pages about driving laws is very essential. A year
ago, I had the opportunity to take a driving education course. The
driving education course was a five-day class that began at eight in
the morning. Each day, we read book lessons, conducted differentiated
activities, and took quizzes to test our knowledge. The driving
education course gave me the opportunity to drive with a driving
instructor to obtain a certain number of hours for completion of the
course. Although sitting in a class was not my ideal way of spending
my summer, I am appreciative that I took the opportunity to take the
course. The course taught me all the laws and regulations for driving
but overall, it taught me how to become a defensive driver.
Furthermore, it taught me how to not only drive for myself, but drive
for others as well. The importance of driving education is to teach
drivers to respond more effectively in difficult driving situations
and gain an understanding of laws to ensure that drivers follow them.
Riding with your friend to football game nights or driving a friend
home from practice are all what teenagers want to experience when
they get their driver’s licence. It gives them the ability to “hang
out” and have more freedom. Although driving can be fun, statistics
have shown that newly-licensed drivers are more likely to get into
car accidents. Distractions, speeding, and not being aware of driving
hazards are three leading causes of car accidents involving
newly-licensed drivers. I had an experience of being in a car
accident with my mother. A teen driver hit us in the rear because she
was too distracted to notice that we were at a standstill, waiting to
turn into our neighborhood. Fortunately, everyone was okay, including
the driver who hit us. To reduce the number of deaths related to
driving, the steps that can be taken include adding certain laws in
order to obtain a license. There should be a law requiring all
newly-licensed drivers to complete a drivers ed course. There
should also be a law requiring all newly-licensed drivers to drive a
particular vehicle size class within six months of driving. Although
I have taken a drivers ed course and I have been driving for
four months, I am not an experienced driver. Steps that I can take to
become a safer driver as well as help others become safer on the road
are remembering three rules. Rule number one: Always be a cautious
driver. Rule number two: Be aware of driving hazards at
intersections. Rule number three: Look both ways.