Buckle Up

Completing a driver’s education course prior to obtaining one’s license will help teenagers develop rudimentary vehicle control and traffic maneuvers. It teaches students how to safely operate a vehicle on busy interstates, at night, and during other dangerous driving circumstances. Teens taking driver education are less likely to be involved in crashes or to receive a traffic violation during their first two years of driving. Because teen crashes and fatality rates are highest at ages 16-18, these reductions are especially meaningful. For example, though most drivers and passengers understand the rationale for wearing safety belts, some feel wearing them should be a personal choice and they shouldn’t be ticketed for neglecting to do so. But teaching through driver’s education the importance of safety, the numbers of teens wearing seat belts has increased.

Investing in driver’s ed. not only saves you money on your premiums, but it also arms you with defensive driving techniques that may save lives; the lives of yourself, your passengers, or another road user. Young drivers below the age of 25 can actually pay upwards of thousands (plural thousands) of dollars per year as they gain experience on the road. However, there are provincially-approved driver’s education programs that insurance providers recognize as reducing the inherent road risk of young drivers. By doing driver’s education, the insurance company sees you differently. You become someone that actually wants to be a good driver, and has taken the proper steps in order to do so.

Driver education is not teaching the child to turn the car on. There are many different aspects to driving the need to be taught. Driving education courses teach the driver judgment, common sense and defensive driving. Driver education courses teach our children important factors about driving in all sorts of different weather. Winter and rainy weather are dangerous for even the most seasoned driver; a first time driver needs to be prepared. Driver courses can also teach a student how to avoid getting in accidents and how to drive in congested areas. Driver education classes cover all aspects of driving from parking on a hill to deer crossing safety. These are all things that the driver needs to know. The instructor will also pass out driver manuals for the student to study when he or she is not in class. Since the inception of driver education classes in schools, the number of accidents involving teenage driving has been drastically reduced.

The law for student driver vary from state to state that driving courses must obey. The most common rule that is in effect in almost every state is the 30:6 training method. It is very simple, 30 hours of classroom time learning the rules and laws, and 6 hours of driving time. Most of the time, the driving instructor will require more additional driving time.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens according to the Centers for Disease Control’s Teen Driver Fact Sheet. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1,830 drivers between the ages of 15 to 20 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2017, down 4 percent from 1,916 in 2016. We can use drivers education as a tool to save lives.