The Importance of Driver’s Ed

Driver’s education is not only something that students need to graduate, but it is also something that saves lives everyday. Going through driver’s education and learning all of the necessary skills and safety measures in order to be safe when driving is essential for people to get into the least amount of accidents possible. Most people think that driver’s education is there to only teach students how to drive, but that is not true. It also teaches students how to be defensive drivers, have common sense while driving, as well as making sure they know some of the written and unwritten rules of the road. Around the world, almost 3,700 people are killed in car accidents daily. This number is astronomically too high and could be greatly reduced if people took driver’s education more seriously. In the US alone, it is averaged that a car accident happens every six minutes. Reducing the number of deaths and car accidents can be done if we take the right actions. One action that could greatly reduce the number of deaths and accidents on the road is making software that limits what you can do on a cellphone while in a car. If there was a software made that was applied to everyone’s phones that only allowed people to call the police or their emergency contact while driving a car would be so helpful in reducing the number of accidents. Texting and driving is the number one distraction when it comes to driving, so if we took that factor away, the roads would immediately become a safer space. Another solution that could be implemented is adding breathalyzers to all vehicles of people that drink alcohol. Almost 30% of fatal car crashes are a result of someone drinking and driving. By adding the breathalyzers to peoples cars, it would be impossible for someone to get behind the wheel and drive a car unless they were sober enough to do so. It is safer for someone to stay where they are or call an uber then for them to get behind the wheel thinking they are sober enough to drive and then end up potentially hurting themselves or others. A third reason that people end up getting into accidents is because they are extremely tired and think that they won’t fall asleep at the wheel. From my personal experience, being in the car when someone falls asleep at the wheel is terrifying. Thankfully, I was able to wake the person up and we both escaped getting seriously hurt. Making an addition to the drivers education program that really focuses on the danger of driving while feeling tired would be extremely helpful in making sure that people know just how dangerous driving while tired is. Not only have I been in the car when someone fell asleep behind the wheel, but I have been behind the wheel while tired and I caused an accident. It was early in the morning and I hadn’t slept much the night before but my mom needed me to drive her car behind her to the car dealership so I got up and into the car. I was tired and not thinking as clearly as I normally would so when I saw a car trying to merge over, I just checked my mirror and not my blind spot and merged into another car. Thankfully, I was awake enough to move back to my lane but I had damaged both her car and my own. That incident really showed me that you don’t have to be that tired in order to make careless mistakes like not checking your blind spot. It’s those common sense things like checking your blind spot that are taught during drivers education that many people overlook. But in those split second decisions, if you aren’t in the correct headspace then you can make some bad decisions. Personally, I know that in order to better my driving skills and driving safety, I can look back on my drivers education lessons and make sure I am on top of all the rules and safety regulations that are relevant to my state. I can also make sure I never drive if I am feeling too tired, and to never use my phone while driving unless it is to make an emergency phone call. Being able to afford to pay for and drive a car is a privilege that I think a lot of people take for granted. In order to maintain that privilege of being able to drive, people need to take driving seriously and make sure that they know just how dangerous it is to drive while being distracted. Nobody wants to get the call that their loved one was a victim of someone being irresponsible while driving. Be responsible and make sure you are being safe and cautious while driving.