I choose Life.

The amount of people and especially teens that die on the road while driving is much too high. Most deaths and injuries can be easily avoided and are caused by distracted or inexperienced drivers. This is where the importance of driver education comes into play. In Connecticut it is possible to get your license without ever having formal driving education. It does not make sense that something so important like driving would be optional to have formal education on. Driver education teaches you all the traffic and safety laws that are vital for properly driving on the roads. The permit test questions you on sign shapes and how far away to park from fire hydrants but driver education teaches you about right of way, how to merge properly and what all the different lines on the road mean, just to name a few. Driver education normally has an on-road part to it as well. Personally this is where I learned the most about proper driving practices because I was actually driving a car and an instructor was there also providing real world experience and scenarios that might not come up in a classroom setting. This on-road time is not a substitution for learning the fundamentals in the classroom but adds another layer of experience and learning to your driving knowledge. The best steps to take to reduce the amount of driving deaths would be to have mandatory driver education permit holders going to get their license. The on-road license test only tests if you are able to drive in a straight line, perform a k turn and park. These are only a fraction of what you will encounter during a normal day of driving on the roads. This is especially concerning because people can get their license without ever getting behind the wheel before. The current system allows inexperience and uneducated drivers onto the road alone without proper education that helps them stay alive. I have luckily not experienced an accident or people driving irresponsible because everyone I know took it upon themselves to get proper driver education and onroad experience before getting their license. Even with experience and proper education a big cause of car injuries and deaths are due to distracted driving, mostly using the phone to text or call while driving. This is highly distracting to the driver, especially new ones and is very dangerous. The best way to be a better and safer driver is to drive distraction free and have all the mirrors and seat position already set before starting the car. Adjusting these things while moving can be equally as distracting and might even take your eyes off the road for longer than a text message. Driving on the road today is a life or death choice, let’s all choose life.