“Drivers Ed: Awakening Young Drivers”

Drivers Ed: Awakening Young Drivers

Drivers ed works to make young drivers aware. Growing up, we see driving as something easy. The rules of the road are foreign as we rely on our parents’ years of experience to get us from Point A to Point B safely. Drivers ed teaches young drivers road laws and road safety: when it’s okay to turn, why speed limits should be obeyed, what to do when your car breaks down or malfunctions on the road. The importance of drivers ed lies in awakening young drivers to the dangers of the road, so they can prevent an accident from happening or know what to do if a problem arises on the road.

As people get older, they lose some of the information that they learned in drivers ed. To reduce the number of deaths related to driving, every couple of times a license needs to renewed, the driver should have to retake the permit test, showing they know the rules of the road. Also, drunk or otherwise inebriated drivers should be forced to take mandatory drivers ed classes, and a breathalyzer test should be inputted into the vehicle after the first offense.

I was in a car accident when I was around five years old. My grandmother was driving my sister and me to her house after school when a car tried to make a left turn. They crossed into our lane, and my grandmother didn’t have enough time to stop. My sister and I both had bruises wrapped around our stomachs from the seatbelt, and I still have a scar by the corner of my eye from where my face slammed against the driver’s seat. My grandmother’s car was totaled. It was eye-opening, to say the least, when I got behind the wheel and realized how quickly a snap decision can turn into an accident.

My freshman year of high school, a junior was t-boned by a truck on her way to school, and she died in the hospital not long after. I remember my sister sobbing in the car and some of my other junior friends having to leave school early. It was shocking to see a life end that quickly, and when I got my license the following year, I was careful to be wary around corners and turns, especially on the busier roads near my house and school.

To be a better and safer driver, I can continue to seek out education resources to keep myself informed of the rules of the road. I can put my cellphone away while driving, be cautious of what is going on around me, and continue to think of my personal experiences with car accidents to encourage safer driving. As for helping others be safe, I can recommend resources to my friends and family, and I can refuse to get in the car with drivers who use their cellphones while driving so they can know that their driving makes me, and others, feel unsafe in their car.