On Driver’s Education

Drivers’ education is essential in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving, as it ensures new drivers are aware of the rules of the road. Additionally, drivers’ education classes teach students about distractions to driving, including drugs, alcohol, other people, and the feeling of necessity to do things while driving such as texting, eating, or doing one’s makeup. However, as most drivers on the road have taken drivers’ education classes and the rate of deaths as a result of driving is still high, clearly those classes are not doing enough. I propose that we focus drivers’ education on hands-on experience with an instructor rather than in-class time, add more traffic lights at intersections and more bike lanes, and make the road material more sustainable.

In North Carolina, where I took drivers’ education, students are required to take thirty hours of in-class instruction, but only six hours of driving with an instructor. It is a known fact that experience is more likely to build an understanding of and muscle memory on the topic rather than simply hearing about the topic. I suggest that we either even out the class times or decrease the amount of in-class learning in favor of driving with an instructor. Eighteen hours of each will decrease the amount of new drivers who come out of class still unsure in their ability to drive. Six hours with an instructor is simply not enough. I understand that sixty hours of personal driving are required in order to get one’s license, but repetitive application is not productive when the application is learned incorrectly. More time with a professional instructor will ensure that the personal sixty hours logged are done correctly.

When I was seven years old, my dad got into a really bad accident at the end of our street. His car was T-boned and rendered completely unsafe to drive. That accident could’ve been totally avoided had there been a traffic light there. We tried to get a light put up, but we were told that they couldn’t allocate money towards another light until the number of accidents reached there hit a certain number. There is now a traffic light up, and the results have proven my point: there have been no accidents since. I believe that if we put traffic lights up at more intersections, there would be far less accidents. Additionally, more bike lanes being put on main roads would help especially new drivers. When bikers are forced to bike in the driving lanes, drivers must navigate around them, usually causing a lane crossing and, possibly, an accident.

Finally, asphalt as a material for roads is insufficient and unsustainable. Of 33,000 traffic fatalities per year, a third are caused by poor road conditions such as potholes (pothole.info). These could be avoided by a better road material, one less expensive and less able to break down. This would help not only new drivers, but drivers of all ages and levels of experience.

In conclusion, drivers’ education could benefit from emphasis on hands-on experience, drivers could benefit from bike lanes and traffic lights, and everyone could benefit from new road material. Driving safety is of the utmost importance to me as a new driver, because I know that most teenagers get into accidents within two years of getting their license. Taking these extra precautions will help me and many other new drivers feel safer on the road.