Lessons In Driving

Something every child has been told since they could walk has been “look both ways before you cross the road”. When we were young we simply did as we were told, not knowing that all it would take would be one careless mistake or poor choice for us to not make it across the street. It’s not like that rule always helped kids anyway, especially when a drunk driver could crash into anyone’s yard. Education in the driver’s seat is so important because the choices of the driver decide the outcome. You could be as safe as possible as a pedestrian and horrible disasters can still happen. Proper driver education quite literally can save lives. One thing I will always remember from my driver’s ed class was PSA videos on drunk driving. I’d rather not go into detail but it suffices to say it was enough to make sure I never got behind the wheel while intoxicated or let someone else drive drunk. That was only one example of the safety rules they drilled us on in over 16 hours of lessons on driver’s education. While I personally have never known someone to be in a crash, I’ve heard enough stories to know it is not something I’d wish on anyone, and I definitely don’t want to experience it myself. In addition to all of the things they told us not to do in that class, there were an array of tips and tricks they taught us to become safer drivers, most I use every day. The first one is pretty obvious, but a seatbelt is never something to be taken lightly. One little strap of leather can save your life. We were drilled from day one, before we do anything, to put on our seatbelts. They’ve become something of a recommendation instead of a life-saving device. It might be an inconvenience to some, but would you rather put on your seatbelt every trip or not be able to walk anywhere on your own again? The next one is patience. Now, this isn’t exactly something specific to driving, but it is definitely something that keeps me safe while driving. I never would run a red light or go 25 over the speed limit because I need to get there faster. Making poor decisions like that only increases the chance of a crash. It is a low-reward-high-risk scenario. Having the patience to stop at that red or stay at the speed limit keeps me safer on the road. Then there are the regular rules you learn in the book. Use your blinker to indicate your intentions, always have your headlights on after dark, right of way, etc. I didn’t always know these things though. I had to learn them from a book, study a little bit, and practice these rules a lot. They eventually became habits for me, but for 14-year-olds learning to drive it’s like a whole new world. Making sure kids get proper education before and during their time behind the wheel is crucial in maintaining safe roads. Most people take for granted their driving knowledge, but everybody was once a scared 14-year-old getting behind the wheel for the first time thinking they don’t know anything. It doesn’t even have to start at 14. Simply explaining simple road concepts to kids like red means stop and green means go can have an impact. All of these things can help keep people safe and reduce unnecessary deaths. These rules are there for a reason and people don’t always figure that out until it’s too late. Until you get a ticket for speeding, until your car is totaled, or until there is a child in the road right in front of you. In today’s society, it is very hard to get a license and very easy to lose one. Depending on the state, some kids have to take a test, have a year of driving experience under their belt with an adult, and on top of that take a driver’s ed class. This rigorous process makes sure that even if a teenager is able to drive, they are responsible. It only takes a few small mistakes or one big mistake to lose a license. These rules make sure that repeat offenders don’t reenter the road and hurt someone. Overall, there are so many different rules and regulations that are in place to prevent road deaths, but there’s always more to be done. It’s up to the driver to be educated and smart about their choices on the road, as it could make the difference between life and death.