Drivers ed Initiative

Driving is a rite of passage for every American teenager. With a driver’s license comes the freedom to go where you want, when you want, without a parent having to drop you off. Driving is also a huge responsibility. Cars are dangerous—sharp, heavy pieces of metal going at high speeds towards other hunks of metal at even higher speeds which can result in collisions that end in injuries or death. This essay will examine how drivers ed can reduce the number of deaths from car accidents, the steps involved in this process, my personal experience in a car accident, and the steps I will take in the future to make my driving skills even safer.

Drivers ed can greatly reduce the number of deaths from car accidents. By teaching new drivers how to be safe, the cycle of unsafe drivers can be broken. New drivers have not yet picked up bad habits when driving and do not have unsafe tendencies. New drivers may be overly cautious and scared until they become more comfortable behind the wheel. This is the time to instill good driving habits in them.

The steps drivers ed programs should take to do this would be not only teaching safe driving skills, but also teaching how to look out for and react to unsafe drivers on the road. This would help prevent accidents that are not the new driver’s fault by teaching them how to be aware of other drivers around them. This is a valuable skill to have when driving. It enables the driver to try to be aware of things that are beyond their immediate control thus helping them to remain safe on the roads.

I have personally been in a car accident caused by an unsafe driver. I was turning left out of a parking lot onto a two-lane road. It was dark, but I had my headlights on and was being very cautious because it is a difficult turn. No one was coming, so I went, when out of nowhere a car hit me near my driver’s side back tire. The teenage girl who hit me was playing on her phone and did not have her headlights on. We pulled into the parking lot because we were blocking traffic, but she turned around and left. Thankfully I got the license plate number. She had a smashed headlight, but my car was totaled because she bent my rear axle.

Since then, I have taken extra steps to ensure that I am a safer driver. These steps include being extra vigilant on left turns on two lane roads, being extra careful to always have my headlights on, and I am always looking for cars who forgot to turn on their headlights.

In conclusion, driving, while a great freedom, is also a heavy responsibility to bear. Care should be taken to educate all new drivers on the dangers of distracted driving so that the roads can be safer.