Baseline Defense; Why We Should Care About Drivers Ed

The importance of drivers ed is simple. It takes away some of the “trial by fire” aspect of learning to drive, and the limitations of being taught to drive by your parents. Drivers ed gives everyone a universal baseline knowledge of driving laws and crisis management. Parents and guardians are usually focused on pragmatic advice and might forget about specific laws or technicalities of road etiquette, but drivers ed instructors are trained to address those gaps in knowledge.

I’ve had a couple of car mishaps with my family, but I’ve never gotten in a collision except for the time my mom ran into a tree when I was four. For a couple months last summer, my older sister drove without a headlight on the right side of her car, so she had trouble staying in her lane. Eventually, a police officer pulled her over and gave her a ticket, but let her back on the road. Despite the $200 fine, she drove like that until she totaled her car several months later.

Most car crashes are caused by drunk driving, so increasing the availability and sustainability of public transportation and rideshare apps might be a temporary solution for situations where a person might think they’re not drunk enough to fail a breathalyzer test, but they shouldn’t endanger other people on the road. Retesting for driving competency each time you renew your license could also verify that people are still vigilant about their driving skills.

I don’t actually have my driver’s license yet, but in general, checking my blind spots and managing my speed to keep up with traffic. I can help others by offering to drive when they’re feeling unwell, or handle distractions for the driver (e.g. navigation, sending text messages, or retrieving stuff from the backseat). They might seem like small measures, but many accidents can be prevented by paying just a little bit more attention to the road and applicable regulations.