Driver’s Education is Key

Driver’s education is crucial in reducing deaths on the roadway because it provides drivers with the knowledge and skills necessary to drive a vehicle. With proper driver’s education, drivers learn the rules of the road, defensive driving techniques, and how to handle unexpected situations.

The history of driver’s education began when a man wrote his doctoral thesis about teens beginning to drive more in 1928. He proposed that high schools adopt driving to the curriculum because the number of vehicular casualties were increasing as cars became cheaper and more readily available. Soon after companies like AAA were founded to call the government into action to provide better roadways, signs, driver evaluation and licensing.

The biggest reason driver’s education is so important is that it teaches the rules of the road. Driver’s education courses teach students what every sign on the road means as well as traffic laws and regulations, and how to navigate intersections. This basic knowledge is essential for new drivers so they can prevent accidents and avoid violating traffic laws that could lead to a ticket or loss of license.

A physical skill that drivers education teaches is defensive driving. Defensive driving means you are always prepared for anything that could possibly happen on the road. Driver’s education courses teach their students defensive driving tips to become a better driver that makes them more aware of what is happening around them. In the defensive driving portion of driver’s education, you will also learn about the dangers of distracted driving, like texting or using your phone while driving, which is the leading cause of all car collisions.

Driving your car safely is all about reducing your risk of a crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driver’s education programs have been shown to reduce the risk of crashes among teen drivers by up to 50%. This statistic proves that driver’s education has a positive impact on young drivers because of the reduced risk of crashes from the people who have taken driver’s education classes.

Things drivers do regularly that increases risk of a crash is speeding, distracted driving, or operating while intoxicated. Driver’s education teaches the importance of reducing your risk by eliminating unnecessary risky behavior.

In my life I have experienced the loss of a very close friend due to unsafe driving. She had just gotten her license and was going out for a drive with friends because she was excited to finally be able to drive. She was driving the backroads of our town when another vehicle came into her lane on top of the centerline. She swerved to avoid the head-on collision and was sent into a ditch where the car flipped over, ejecting her from the car’s open sunroof. She was outside the car on the ground when the car rolled back on top of her, crushing her. If she had been wearing her seatbelt, she would have walked out of that crash unharmed, and if the oncoming driver had been in the correct lane she would still be around today. That day I learned that I need to always make a conscious effort towards safety and sometimes you need to pick up where other people lack.

As a motorcycle rider I understand the importance of driver’s education because of the intensive classes I took to get my motorcycle license and the amount I learned while doing it. Riding a motorcycle is much more difficult and dangerous than driving a car and has a much higher crash rate. It is very common in a car and motorcycle collision that the car driver doesn’t see the motorcyclist even if they are coming directly at them, driver’s education teaches the student to look for motorcycles while they are driving which reduces the number of accidents with motorcycles.

Without the basic knowledge of the motorcycle safety course and driver’s education the number of incidents that occur on the road would dramatically increase. This knowledge can help prevent accidents and ultimately save lives.

Although driver’s education is a step in the right direction for our society, I think that we need to go more in depth and have regular evaluations of the people who already have their license and have had them for a while because as road laws change and different style intersections are put in place the experienced drivers still may not understand what they are supposed to do in certain situations. These evaluations could range from a skill test to a mental health test which could prevent many accidents from occurring and make the roadways a safer place.

In conclusion, driver’s education is a crucial step in becoming a responsible and safe driver. It provides learners with the knowledge, skills, and techniques necessary to operate a vehicle safely.