What I Learned in Drivers Ed

What
I Learned in Drivers Ed

I
pride myself on having an accident and pullover-free driving record.
I attribute this to the lessons I learned in Drivers Ed, which
aided me in learning to avoid the tempting fallacy that teens my age
are, as so many like to believe and regret after an incident occurs,
“invincible”. I always take steps to obey the traffic laws,
avoid distractions (especially my phone), drive only when I get
enough sleep and never drink and drive.

Drivers
aged 16-19 had well-over three times the number of accidents than the
second highest age group, aged 20-24.  48% of all teenage deaths
in the US were as a result of unintentional injury, 77% of them being
as a result of a motor vehicle crash, equating to every 1-in-3
teenage deaths in the US being a result of motor vehicle accidents.
Of those, 33% were attributed to irresponsible driving, which is
inclusive of texting and driving, driving while tired, or poor
maintenance for a vehicle.  According to the Virginia Tech
Transportation Institute, these events while driving, particularly
texting, make an individual 23 times more likely to be involved in a
“safety-critical event”.

These
statistics, coupled together with the fact that motor vehicle
accidents represent the leading cause of teenage death in the United
States.  However, they’re easily preventable.  Teens that
take drivers ed are less likely to be involved in automotive
accidents and traffic violations during the first two years of
driving. The purpose of driver’s is to provide the knowledge,
including practical knowledge, skills and venue to learn the correct
attitude of a safe and conscientious driver. Driving
is a privilege not a right, was
drilled into me by my drivers ed instructor. I pride myself,
after over 200,000 miles spanning 6 states, on an accident and
pullover-free record, and I attribute it to my driving course and
instructor.  I took two courses, and in both I was firmly
instructed the most important lesson in learning to drive is that
driving is inclusive of all senses, and that, in order to be the best
driver possible, all factors on and off the road should be taken into
consideration.  For example, rather than just focusing on what’s
on the road, drivers should be considerate of a wildlife-dense area,
as well as the road.  I’ve had experience with this, where,
thanks to the skills I’d honed in Skid School an advanced driver
education course, I was able to avoid a literal “deer in the
headlights scenario”.   It was a road I was familiar with, one
where many animals crossed and met their rubber-tired maker. 
This made me aware of the possibility of larger animals that may be
present, and so I slowed down in advance in order to have an easier
brake and longer time to react.  When a family of deer appeared,
I knew to brake hard first to push my car down close to the road
which helps not to flip the car, and then swerved quickly to the
right, recorrecting back on the road so as to not veer into trees or
the guardrail, avoiding damaging my car and hurting the local
wildlife. This was an actual drill I did with an instructor in Skid
School on an airport runway.

So,
forget about your phone, keep your car in its best working condition,
don’t drive while drinking or when tired, and keep a safe distance
from other drivers – this is how drivers
can work to be safer, Drivers should utilize all of the knowledge
available to them to make a preemptive “game plan” on how to
avoid any scenario that may occur, and always be considerate of other
drivers and remember driving is a privilege and not a right – in
general always be aware of the world around the road.