The Impacts of Good and Bad Driving Education

The Impacts of Good and Bad Driving Education

I am Aoibhin, a student from Ireland, and I think education is above all the most important thing when it comes to driving. In Ireland there is a big culture for car racing and there are hundreds of accidents every year due to people driving recklessly, sometimes even drunk. During reckless driving, things such as roundabout etiquette, speed limits and the importance of not undertaking are often ignored and there have even been instances of people knowingly driving on the wrong side of the road. You read that right! The wrong side of the road!

In Ireland, a lot of people who grow up in the countryside start learning how to drive in quiet places from family and friends at very young ages – before it is legal to do so. They often pick up bad habits and by the time there are old enough to legally drive, it is hard for them to change what they already have been taught. This shows the lasting impact which education can have, and therefore it is so important to stress that young drivers should be learning from those qualified to teach. More emphasis on thorough driving education and the elimination of ‘DIY’ teaching, especially at young ages is key! Bringing more driving education into schools would help.

Personally, I have never been in a serious crash. However, a few years ago, as a result of a drunk driver, my boyfriend was. He and his friends were drinking in a small village pub and his friend (the driver, we’ll call him John) said ‘Hey, lets go to McDonalds.’ My boyfriend foolishly agreed, as John didn’t seem drunk at all. John, however, was a massive car enthusiast who loved speeding. John started speeding up, got to around 140 MPH and lost control. The car rolled and landed on the hard shoulder of the oncoming motorway lane. Miraculously, no one was killed, and somehow, everyone recovered fairly well. I remember the next day my boyfriend saying to me that form then on, he would obey the rules of the road, never speed, never get into a car with dangerous driver, and help anyone about to drive drunk get home safe an alternative way. John grew up in the countryside, his family allowing him to drive cars from a very young age in a reckless fashion. If he has been properly educated since he was young to not do things like this, then perhaps that terrifying incident might never have happened.

I believe that it is so important to continue to spread awareness of cases where reckless driving has led to injury or even death, and to get people talking about their own experiences. Hopefully this will encourage people to use public transport or taxis when going on nights out involving alcohol, give people the courage so say NO to getting into a car with a dangerous driver, and help reckless drivers change their mindset of ‘I’m a good driver, nothing bad will happen to me’.