“An Important Lesson, Learned Early”

Although taking drivers’ education for 6 hours every Saturday for a month was no fun, I realized how important it was to teach me the rules of the road and prepare me for my permit and license. Driver education, especially for teens, helps reduce the number of deaths because we learn the rules of the road, what happens when we don’t follow them, fines, hand signals, how to read the road signs, speed limits, to prevent distractions, defensive driving often in the snow or rain, parallel parking, 3 point turns, and more. A good instructor is an important aspect of drivers education because if the instructor is negative it can cause teenagers to become defensive and not necessarily take the feedback whether it is a parent or the driving school. The number of hours on the road before the license makes a huge difference too. Following these key factors is going to keep drivers, passengers, bike riders, motorcyclists and pedestrians safe.

Steps that can be taken to limit the number of deaths is enforcing the use of cell phones, mainly texting and putting some type of block once we start to drive. The “not driving at this time” button isn’t enough on the phone. I see people driving and texting this all the time and it is scary. I have to admit, I have texted on occasion at a traffic light but when I was learning and with my parents, they made me put it in the console and turn it off. I love music and made a long playlist so that I can avoid touching the phone while driving and songs are synced up to the radio. Patience is important and being kind too on the road and if we all had this, we would have less accidents and deaths in my opinion. It isn’t the end of the world to let someone go in front of you but many people lay on the horn or just zip around. I also think that we have people that are just self absorbed and in a rush which causes more accidents on the road and people and dogs on sidewalks even get hurt because of speeding and texting.

My parents were super strict about the junior operator, which was so annoying to me because many of my friends were driving each other. However, I knew if they ever caught me, I would not have the car again for a long time. The rule is in place for a reason because we are not skilled drivers and having kids in the car increases distractions which can lead to tragedy. Enforcing this is important and can really reduce deaths. I also think having young drivers have the dashcam, which was recommended by our insurance company, made me more cautious. I personally learned a valuable lesson very early after getting my license. I was meeting up at my friend’s house to watch the Celtics. I was making a 3 point turn in front of his house and clearly going too fast. When I backed up, I hit the neighbors mailbox and the back window on my Mom’s jeep shattered. I was stunned, embarrassed, afraid my parents were going to really flip out. I am sure my friends were laughing when they went back inside. My friend’s Dad helped me with the glass and the neighbor was in her driveway soI scared the heck out of her and I felt terrible. She was really understanding about the entire thing. I was afraid to call my parents but I texted them and when my Mom saw my photo, she flipped out and told me to get home. She is often over the top reactive with safety issues and my Dad was much calmer and understanding. I had to clean up all the glass, tape it up, and the next day, went back to the neighbor and my Dad helped me fix her mailbox. I went to three junk yards with my Mom, paid $500.00 and installed it on my own by watching youtube with Dad watching.

The mailbox could have been a much worse accident and I could have really hurt the neighbor. Although it was so stressful, humiliating, costly, humbling, and a wake up call as a new driver, I truly believe that it was also a needed experience and it has made a lasting impression that has stayed with me a year and half later.