Name: Nicholas
Votes: 0
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.