In the Driver’s Seat

Driver Education Initiative 2021: In the Driver’s Seat

Safe driving is one of the most important things in life. 84.1% of the United States population are drivers and most people use vehicles such as cars or motorcycles as their primary source of transportation. With this many people on the road every day, driving can be a very dangerous thing. Good driver education can make a significant impact on the rising number of deaths due to driving.

Driver education is so important not only to learn the rules of the road but also to learn the manners of the road. When students are taught about driving in a poor format or just taught about poor driving, they are more likely to go out and drive recklessly. The kids learning to drive are still young enough to be extremely impressionable while being mature enough to take on the responsibility of having control of a vehicle. When students are not taught the manners and rules of the road correctly, they go out and not only put themselves in danger but they put everyone else on the road in danger as well. Just one student who had a poor drivers education experience can lead to multiple deaths and many lives changed forever. I, for example, did not have a very good driver education experience. I am a very good driver because I learned a lot from my father but as far as what I learned from my driver education class, there is very little that helps me on a daily basis of driving. Driver education teachers have a lot of responsibility when it comes to teaching because, different from most other teachers, their lessons can lead to safe driving or catastrophic events. While drivers can make mistakes, especially new drivers like teenagers, about half of the fatal car accidents could have been prevented with better driver education.

Many steps can be taken, especially in driver education, to prevent accidents in the future. One thing that would be a strong start, would be to require more experience or education to become a driver education instructor and have regular reviews to make sure the instructors are keeping to the full curriculum. On the subject of curriculum, that could be improved as well to add more about different emergency or panic situations you may end up in throughout your time driving. Students should be more prepared to handle stressful situations and one-second decisions to avoid accidents and be a safe driver. I don’t remember much preparation for emergency situations and I have not had to deal with many but you never know what is going to happen and you have to know how to be responsible for your reactions to different situations. Interstate practice is another good addition to the required curriculum. I did not do any interstate practice when I was in my driver education course and now I am having to get comfortable with it and practice for when I go four hours away for college. Driving on the interstate can be extremely dangerous, especially when the driver has no prior experience and is on their own. The higher speed combined with the higher influx of drivers in one space creates a very dangerous situation and if students are not aware of how to drive safely in that setting and have no experience, it can create a possibly fatal situation. There are other things that can be improved in the driver education system but these things would be a good start to make the roads just a little bit safer.

I have thankfully not experienced a bad accident. However, I have been in a car that was rear ended a few times and while no one was hurt and there was little damage to the cars, it is still a scary and uneasy experience. I know a few people who drive irresponsibly because they speed and don’t give themselves enough time to brake before a red light or stop sign but I make sure that I trust everyone that I get in a car with and am comfortable with their driving. I also make a point to tell people if their driving is making me uncomfortable so that they will hopefully learn from the experience and become just a little safer each day. I take many steps every day to improve my driving and stay safe. For example, I focus on being attentive and aware of my surroundings. It is very important to be aware of those driving around you so that you are able to predict what they are about to do or prepare for unsafe situations that the cars around you may initiate. Even when I am in the car with friends and family, I try to be attentive to the cars around us so that I can inform the driver of an emergency if they don’t see it. These small steps can save lives and make the roads a safer environment for everyone.

Overall, safe driving is an extremely important topic in the world today and something should be done to improve driver education so that the new drivers can be safe and set an example for future generations and current drivers as well. With the rising number of car related deaths, something needs to change and I hope that my generation can be the one to make that change.