The Privilege of Driving

Home economics, ACT prep, and drivers ed classes—just to name a few— should be mandatory for students to take in school. With these classes removed, young teens lack the skills that they need for the real world and fail to follow safety procedures. That is also the cause of many young deaths. Without an instructor, all the work is placed on a fifteen or sixteen year old to figure out what they must learn. However, if there were a class, the student could not only learn the basics on the road, but they can also receive hands-on experience. With hands-on experience, the student can be less nervous and more confident when they are taking their test.

Personally, my experience taking both the permit and road test was not horrible because I passed them on my first try, however, I would have felt more comfortable if I were offered a drivers ed class. Some of my peers were not capable of comprehending the material because they had to take the test multiple times before they could receive their permit; hence, they had to wait longer to receive their driver’s license. Again if there were a class, I believe a decrease in failures on tests would occur. Conversely, I have known that many people do better on the road test, but these are also people who were driving with their permits without a parent or guardian in the car with them. This is a habit that parents should get rid of, because this can also be a cause for car accidents.

I take driving seriously, and I do not drive until everyone in the car with me has on their seatbelt. However, some of my family members and friends fail to do so, and I encourage them to follow safety precautions to reduce the amount of injuries and deaths. The precautions I believe everyone should take before they drive off and while driving is to first and foremost put on your seatbelt. Secondly, check the gear to make sure it is in drive and not reverse and vice versa. Subsequently, check the mirrors for blind spots before getting over, because everyone is not always paying attention. Also, pay close attention at stop signs to know when it is your turn to go. I see this all the time, however, you are not supposed to get over in another lane under a street light. These procedures do not cover everything, but they are really important to know while on the road.

Lastly, one thing that bothers me that I can not really help but is something we should watch is our tempers; road rage is a huge factor to many deaths and I do not believe anyone should die because they turned in front of someone or accidentally cut someone off. Therefore I suggest that schools reconsider what classes will help their students such as, drivers ed, and what will not to determine which classes they should take.