Behind the Wheel; The Importance of Driver Education

As a teenager who drives to school and home every day, driver education is extremely important

to my family and me. Before I became of age to get my learner’s permit, I studied a lot to be

prepared for the test. I learned a lot about the driving laws in my state of Pennsylvania and when

I was driving, I considered the laws and took driving seriously. Knowing and following the laws

and basic driving instructions have reduced my chances of getting into an accident every single

time I get behind the wheel. Hence, the more people who are educated on the driving laws in

their area, the less vehicular accidents or deaths. To continue, there are things that the US can do

to reduce the number of driving deaths and incidents. For example, our educators can better

prepare teenagers for driving prior to getting their license, so they are informed more about the

laws and regulations before driving on the road. Another step we can take to reduce driving

deaths are to better enforce the driving laws. I see so many cars speeding and going through red

lights that it is normal and forgotten about. If there was more enforcement and the laws were

taken more seriously by drivers, these common occurrences of breaking the law would cease, or

at least reduce greatly. Although I have not been in a vehicular accident myself, I know people

who got into an accident, along with friends or family who were driving irresponsibly. There

were a couple times, as a child, where I was a passenger in a car where I felt unsafe because the

driver was driving unsafely. For example, there was one time where I was in the back seat with a

family member driving. My family member was not a particularly safe driver since they were

driving very fast, along with making unnecessarily tight turns. This made me feel extremely

uncomfortable in the back seat, as I was just hoping that we would make it to our destination. If

people were more educated, and the laws were taken more seriously, this could’ve never

happened. No one wants a child to feel unsafe, let alone our own selves. I have an idea that I

think would truly benefit every driver and pedestrians. My idea is to have drivers take a refresher

test each time they must get their driver’s license renewed. This way, the drivers will be able to

keep up with the laws and regulations throughout most of their life. Doing this could potentially

reduce dangerous driving and ultimately reduce accidents on the roads. This would also benefit

other parties beyond drivers, such as people who walk or bike to work or school. Since more

drivers would be following the laws, then people who walk or bike would not have to worry

about getting hit by a car because most drivers will be driving more carefully. Another reason

that driver education should be taken more seriously is for the safety of child passengers. Every

day, millions of kids are transported to and from school via school bus, and millions more walk

to school or take public transportation. To allow children to feel safer and to reduce the number

of kids involved in accidents, speeding and other driving laws that are commonly not followed,

should be better enforced. Along with laws needing to be better enforced, drivers should be

better educated so that accidents involving kids would be reduced. A lot of people say that

driving is not a right; it is a privilege. That saying is something that I take into consideration a

lot. Because the government can’t just allow for every person to drive on the roads as soon as

they become of age. Rather, each person must earn their driver’s license by going through

practice and training. To elaborate, I think that the test to be able to obtain your driver’s license,

should include a written portion of the test in which the test taker must know certain laws,

regulations, and driving standards/techniques. Furthermore, there is something confusing about

drivers who do not take it seriously. Every time someone drives a car, they are risking their own

life, along with the lives of every other person inside the vehicles around them on the road.

Therefore, I believe driver education should be taken more seriously for those who have had

their license for a long time, because people tend to become more relaxed with driving laws after

they have had many years of driving.