Saving Lives: The Importance of Drivers Education on Teenage Lives

One of the first, big, responsibilities given to a teenager is their drivers license. Not only does this require the teenager to think about the consequences of their actions on their own life but on the lives of everyone around them. When you sit down in the driver’s seat and turn the car on, the whole world opens up in front of you. What a lot of new drivers don’t understand is how quickly that world can disappear. When my dad was in high school, driver’s ed didn’t exist. He was from a rural town in Texas where many of his friends had been driving on their farms since they were tall enough to reach the petals. My dad probably learned how to drive from his older brothers. Think about how that would turn out now-a-days. There are so many more cars on the road and so many more distractions in the cars (cell phones, touchscreen navigation, etc.) If we all took to the highway with our older friends, having no idea what we were doing, imagine the consequences. Driver education is important because it gives students a chance to learn all the rules before they even get into the car. According to a study done at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, “Young drivers who have not completed driver’s education are 75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident and 16 percent more likely to have an accident.” Drivers ed teaches students what to do in stressful situations as well as showing them the risks of not driving responsibility. The driving portion of driver education gives students a chance to get used to being in the driver’s seat, to practice what they learned in the classroom, and to learn the hazards of the road from first hand experience, all with the safety of a brake on the passenger side. Giving teenagers these experiences allows them to explore the freedom and nuances of driving while still being in relatively safe conditions.

I have only been in an accident one time. I was the passenger. My mom was driving; it was not her fault, nor was it related to technology. We were on our way home from a dance recital when another car t-boned us. We were driving in the right-hand lane. The left lane was stopped because at a light, farther ahead, those turning left were stopped and traffic was backed-up. Moving in the opposite direction, there was a woman who wanted to make a left turn into our direction of traffic. She did not want to turn left at the light, so she wanted to cross over the turning lane and get into the lane we were in. The woman who hit us later explained that one of the cars in the turning lane left space in front of himself, for her to fit through, and “beckoned” her through, indicating to her that it was safe for her to pull in front of him and into our lane. She took his word for it and did not look to her right before pulling into our lane; therefore, she did not see us coming and the timing was such that she slammed into the side of us as she pulled through into our lane.

After experiencing this, I realized how important it is to be a safe driver. Something I do to be a safer driver is that I put my phone away when I get in the car. Sometimes I put it where I can’t see it; but if I am going to be able to see it, I at least make sure it is turned over so I can’t see notifications and I turn off the sound so I don’t hear it. These things help it become less of a distraction. If I could see the screen light up, even out of the corner of my eye, I would want to check it. If I heard it buzz, I would get an urge to make sure no one needed anything. According to a survey done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 14% of car crashes involve use of a cell phone. By putting my phone away, I can assure that I will not become part of that 14% and that I will be less distracted and therefore a better driver. I help other people be better drivers by helping them navigate. The other day, I was driving with my friend and she wasn’t sure if the exit that was coming up was the one she was supposed to get off at. Instead of her having to take her eyes off the road and look at her GPS, which was on her phone setting in the cup holder, I looked at her phone for her. This kept not only the two of us safe but also the other people on the busy highway safe.

Even with driver education, permits, and multiple levels of licenses, the vehicular death toll has continued to rise. I mentioned cell phones being a distraction. I think cell phones are the #1 distraction in cars today. Many studies have shown that cell phones are addictive, that technology is addictive, but we still build them into our cars anyway. Many computer screens in cars can call, text, GPS, and more. How do we expect a society so reliant on their technology to not get distracted when it is right there in front of them? I think every state should have “hands free” driving laws. I know it would not completely eliminate the problem, but I think it would help. I have seen people driving all over the road, endangering the lives of others, because they are on their phone. I have even seen people driving down the road watching Netflix.