Driving, Starting With You

Anthony Ramirez

17 July 2020

Importance of Drivers ed

Recently there have been more and more accidents involving drivers being irresponsible, whether it be distracted or reckless driving such as being under the influence while operating a motorized vehicle. Many of these accidents end in thousands of injuries, and unfortunately even in increased number of deaths. When it comes to learning how to drive for the first time, people don’t normally go for drivers ed classes and actually rely on family or friends to take that role and teach them how to operate an automobile. Although it may be cheaper to do this, it can also have many flaws in it as the family member or friend who is doing the teaching may not even be a person who drives properly. Constantly being told that your speed doesn’t matter or that safety measures (such as seatbelts) don’t matter, it will most likely carry over to the person who is learning how to drive so once they get behind the wheel they will most likely not obey speed limits and not wear seat belts. Having someone who is legally able and certified to teach people how to drive cost a bit more of money, but they will actually teach our youth how to properly drive and how to safely do it as well. With this being said, I believe that there should be more drivers ed courses available to those younger people, especially in smaller rural areas. However along with this, we must also be able to see some type of middle ground when it comes to the prices of these courses to better accommodate for those who may not be of such financial status. Being a person that is going to operate a vehicle, you must be able to know the basics behind operating an automobile and also know the basics to the laws and driver safety. As a driver, it all starts with you to do what you need to do like wearing a seatbelt and following speed limits and other street signs to ensure that you are being a safe driver. Don’t let others sway the way that you operate a vehicle. Just because they may not wear a seatbelt in their car does not mean that you should follow them and not wear yours when operating your vehicle. Another step to become safer has to do with distracted driving. As the driver, you should always set your phone down and not engage in texting or other activities that requires you to take your attention off the road or gets you to take a hand off of the steering wheel. At the end of the day, as drivers we must all do our part to ensure that we are driving safely and to encourage that our friends and family also do the same for their own safety. With a bit of effort and professionalism when operating a vehicle, we can all help reduce the number of accidents and deaths that happen.