The Lives of Thousands

Drivers ed is, in my opinion, the single most important class anyone will ever take in Highschool. Even in you never drive, chances are you will be in a car with someone at some point in life. This means, you will at some point trust your life and wellbeing to a person in control of a piece of machinery while all you can do is watch. Or, if you do drive, you have to trust yourself, and every. other. driver. on any road. That is a lot of trust in multiple factors that you have no control over. This is why Drivers ed is so important.

If even one person learns to drive defensively, follow all traffic rules, and understand that the lives of others, and not just their own are in their hands every time they enter a vehicle, that one person could save hundreds if not thousands of lives. Drivers ed teaches people these things along with techniques to further prevent accidents, such as the I.P.D.E process. The sole reason drivers ed exists, is to prevent accidents, reckless driving, and death, and through the class, I believe it does just that.

While I have only ever been in a very small car accident with my parents driving, my father does drive recklessly sometimes. I have been in the car as he passes stop signs and speeds twenty over on the freeway. Usually, he is in a rush to get the pizza we ordered before it cools down. I trust his skill and his judgement as I have never been in an accident or pulled over with him, but sometimes, I wonder if he ever learned what defensive driving was. When I am in the car with him, I feel perfectly safe. However, I worry for the safety of other drivers. While my father is a smart guy, I can’t help but wonder if he knows that his actions affect people other than him.

Drivers ed has obviously evolved over time, and I believe this is part of the reason my dad drives the way he does. Luckily, Drivers Ed now teaches us to try to help other drivers be more careful. Now, when my dad speeds and swerves his way through traffic, I remind him that he is speeding, and that a cold pizza is better than an accident, especially one caused by him. While I do this, I remind myself the same thing, so I do not repeat his actions in the future. I do not know if what I say has any effect, but I believe that anyone can remind people to be careful and drive defensively. That one action could save lives.

With that, I remind people to be aware that driving is a responsibility, and that every time you enter any kind of vehicle, either in the driver’s or passenger’s seat, you hold the lives of thousands of people in and outside of vehicles in your hand. Drive carefully and Drive aware.