Driver’s Education is Important Education

As stated in the background information, “In America, an average of 34,000 people die each year as a result of driving. This is more people who have died in one year as a result of driving, than the total number of American soldiers who have died from war in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. The total number of Americans who die within the span of two years as a result of driving is more than the total number of American deaths from the Vietnam war.” Unfortunately, the number of people who passed due to irresponsible driving is absurd. There are many things we need to do to change these statistics and to keep people safe! It all starts with driving education!

Driver’s education is so crucial in so many different ways. It ranges from hands-on experience to knowledge tests; everything this class offers helps with real-life experiences. You would be taught the rules of the road, distracted driving, defensive driving, drugs and alcohol usage with driving, consequences of response driving, and much more. This class could help reduce the number of deaths by so many if everyone took the class because they would be better informed. The course would bring awareness to things like driving under the influence, texting while driving, eating while driving, and so on. The importance of this class, and passing it, is significant to keep drivers safe AND alive! Driver’s education should be a mandatory class for those who want a permit or a license.

I think people can take many steps to minimize the death rates from driving. Step one would be to require everyone to take driver’s education. The class would include a drug and alcohol lecture, typical lectures based on the state driving manual, testing knowledge learned throughout the course, one big final exam, and a minimum of ten hours of hands-on driving experience with a qualified teacher. For the second step, those who want a permit should go through a more minor version driver’s test because they need to show and apply what they learned inside and outside the classroom. Now for my next step, I believe that phones should automatically be on do not disturb when entering a car. This step should help lower the number of people who get into accidents due to distracted driving or texting. I believe whole heartily that if we inform everyone about all the consequences of irresponsible driving and give them the resources to drive more response, then the death rates from driving can lower significantly.

I have had someone I know drive very irresponsible but have not gotten into a car crash, fortunately. Matt has road rage, so he would typically speed way over the speed limit. I remember one time when I was little, some car ran past Matt on the highway, and he was upset over it. He went almost 120 mph to catch up to the car and pass them. There was no gain from his actions; everyone in the vehicle was worried because Matt could have caused accidents trying to do this. I, myself, have experienced car accidents. I was rear-ended in my first accident, which resulted from someone not braking properly and going almost 50 mph in my bumper. Since this accident, I have always been hyper-aware of my surroundings and ensuring that everything is okay with my car before taking it on the road.

I can take personal steps by putting my phone on do not disturb when I get in the car, stopping eating and driving, and making sure I read/remember the rules of the road before getting on the road. I tend to do many of these, and I never think twice about what could happen if I take my eyes off the road for a millisecond. Something that I never thought of before writing this essay was messing with the music in the car. I play with the volume, switch radio stations, connect Bluetooth music, skip songs, etc. The number of times I would glance over to mess with it is dangerous. Another step I would take is setting up the music I want to hear before I start driving so I can purely focus on driving. For helping others, I have always offered to help read directions or reply to text messages so they can focus on the road. I try to be as helpful as possible, especially regarding multiple people’s safety.

Overall, driver’s education is significant in improving people’s safety on the road. When getting on the road, it is always important to remember that you are not the only person affected, but rather the other drivers on the road.