My Testament to Drivers Education and Confidence Behind the Wheel

I received my learners permit in July of 2020 when I was 16 and my provisional license in May of 2021. As I first began driving, I loved it. It felt liberating and exciting. Driving was one of the few things that I felt I picked up on easily and I was confident in my ability to do. My family told me I was a skilled driver right from the get-go and I was delighted with the trust my mom had in me to begin driving myself. My mom even bought me a nice car to drive for the first time because she trusted my driving skills. I was overjoyed with my car and my newfound freedom and confidence.

However, only two months into having my provisional license, I got into an accident while driving my brother home from football practice and totaled my car. I was and still am distraught. It was terrifying for me, and I lost all of the confidence I had in myself. I felt like I lost my mom’s trust in me because we both never expected for something like that to happen with me behind the wheel. To me, my first car symbolized the faith I had in myself and the faith my family had in me. Just like that, my beautiful new car was gone, along with everything it meant to me. Totaling my car completely changed my attitude towards driving. Anyone who has ever been in an accident, no matter how serious, knows how horrifying it is and how hard it is to move on. I still feel like I haven’t been able to move on and forgive myself.

After my accident, I advocated the importance of being prepared, mindful, and focused to my friends who were also beginning to drive. I didn’t want them to lose the excitement for this new chapter of their lives like I had. I drive a lot throughout the week with my long commute to school and extracurriculars as well as going back and forth between my parents’ houses. Getting back on the road has been difficult for me. Most of the time, things are fine. I’m aware of my surroundings, I use my blinkers, I don’t follow too closely, and everything else they tell you to remember in drivers’ education. However, as soon as cars brake quickly in front of me or follow me more closely than they should, it just sends me over the edge. It’s so frustrating to get so anxious over something that never used to have any affect on you and shouldn’t send you into a panic every time it happens. Losing the trust I had in myself took a big toll on my self-confidence. My friends like to joke about my car and my accident, and I can laugh it off with them, but I feel as though I never really got over my accident. I blame myself and I can’t forgive myself for losing something I thought I would never lose. I don’t want anyone else to feel this way.

I have family that have died in auto accidents and now as my younger brother is just about to get his permit, I’m scared. I want him to be able to enjoy driving and be comfortable with it because you don’t know how valuable that confidence behind the wheel is until you lose it. I have insisted upon signing him up for drivers’ education as soon as possible and I want him to learn, practice, and understand the rules and skills of the road before my family sends him off. I strongly valued my driver’s education while I was receiving it because I wanted to be aware of all of the processes and regulations of the road before I got on it. Now after my accident, I am so thankful that I took my drivers education seriously. I took drivers education during covid so, it was online. Rather than sleeping through my classes or doing other activities, I took extensive notes and asked my instructor any questions that popped up. I’m so happy I took the time and made the effort to retain all of the good tips I received from my instructor because now that I am a little anxious behind the wheel, I want to drive knowing that I am acquainted with good driving practices. Proper drivers’ education is crucial to reducing deaths on the road as well as allowing both new and long-term drivers to feel comfortable behind the wheel. Beginning to drive is so exciting for so many teenagers and I believe that taking the time to appreciate a sufficient driver’s education can and will result in fewer deaths from accidents. It is vital for drivers to be familiar with methods of reducing road rage as well as encouraging communication and understanding among fellow drivers. I want to encourage conscientious completion of driver’s education and the practice of all that it teaches in order to prevent people like me from losing their confidence, or ultimately their lives, behind the wheel.