Enhanced Education

2021 Drivers Ed Essay Contest

When I was 15, I couldn’t wait until my 16th birthday so that I could finally get my driver’s license. I loved the idea of taking responsibility for where I needed to be and having the freedom that came with being able to drive. On my birthday, I went to the DMV as soon as it opened, and waited anxiously in line. I remember taking my picture and smiling, excited to take my test. After passing the exam, I was so excited to go driving and truly experience the freedoms of the open road. Yet, as I began to drive myself, I realized that driving also has many challenges. Many individuals do not treat driving as a luxury, and often abuse the privilege of being behind the wheel. Sadly, this often leads to many drivers being distracted and possibly causing a horrible accident. I’ve learned that not all drivers are responsible, and that the road can be a scary place. Although I have not been personally involved in an accident, I understand the necessity for precautions to prevent reckless driving.

In Driver’s Education, we were constantly told to not only look out for ourselves on the road, but to be very aware of those around us. Truly, the most dangerous part about driving is other distracted drivers. According to the CDC, “In the U.S. in 2018: Twenty-five percent of the distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes were young adults aged 20–29. Drivers aged 15-19 were more likely to be distracted than drivers aged 20 and older, among drivers in crashes where someone died.” Drivers aged 15-19 are the most recently educated in Driver Education courses, and yet, are still mostly likely to be distracted when driving and cause a crash. I think that in order to improve this issue, Driver’s Education courses should place greater emphasis on the point that it’s not always other individuals who are distractions on the road, but rather you yourself. I think that Driver’s Education classes should place greater weight on the sole purpose of stopping distracted driving, and providing preventative solutions to individuals. Some possible solutions include turning a phone on DO NOT DISTURB, turning the phone off, or having automatic bluetooth to play music. Enhanced Driver’s Education courses are essential in stopping the increased usage of cellphones as a result of social media, that often lead to fatal consequences on the road. Driver Education is how the new generation learns how to drive and how we continue to keep our roads safe. Enhanced Driver Education courses are essential to stopping dangerous and distracted driving habits. With greater emphasis on these issues, I hope that we can reduce the amount of distracted deaths. Additionally, emphasizing the importance of UBER and Lyft for younger drivers in these courses is also critical. Many Driver Education courses heavily emphasize the importance of never drinking and driving. Yet, many courses do not emphasize an alternative: utilizing these ride sharing services. I think that by promoting these ride sharing services, individuals will have greater awareness of these alternatives and less death will occur. These dangerous driving habits lead to horrendous deaths, that not only harm the individuals in the car, but others on the road.

Personally, I have had the experience of being in a car with a distracted driver. My dad is someone who used to text and drive all of the time. Growing up, I thought that him casually browsing Facebook while driving was normal. At times, I would remind him to stop, but I never really knew the danger of this until I was older and started to drive myself. After that, I refused to ride with him when he was texting and driving. I was shocked that he would be willing to risk the lives of those around him for a simple communication app. I will never text and drive, because I do not want someone else to die at the hands of my carelessness. As a driver, you not only have a responsibility to protect those in your own car, but those on the road around you. I hold true to that promise, and ensure that I do not text, eat, or talk on the phone while I am driving to uphold these values and keep the road a safer place. My dad did not do that in the past, but through my constant reminding, he no longer does these dangerous things while driving.

It is terrible to think that someone could die at the hands of a careless driver who is checking Facebook, eating a hotdog, or talking on the phone. Distracted driving is a real problem that needs to be best solved through the use of enhanced Driver Education courses. Through enhancing and covering greater content and preventative measures in Driver Education, the next generation of drivers will be more than prepared to continue to keep our roads safe. I am going to continue to uphold my Driving Code of Ethics as long as I am behind the wheel and I will continue to be a safe driver.