The Class That Matters the Most: Drivers Education

In the state of South Dakota, children are able to start driving at the age of fourteen with a driver’s permit. Although teenagers must wait until the age of sixteen to fully operate a vehicle alone, there are many risks that come along with this new responsibility. The perfect place to gain a background knowledge of driving is drivers education classes. Taking these classes does not have to be a dreadful class time experience now that there are drivers ed classes available online. Therefore, the excuses for not completing the course are limited. Personally, driver’s education is simply the most important class to take because it is among one of the only ones that covers matters used day-to-day in the real world. The education taught in the class are valuable and focus on specific maneuvers to avoid fatal accidents or matters that could result in getting pulled over. From the proper times your headlights should be on to making changes in order to adapt when weather conditions worsen, all aspects of driving are important to note in order to avoid accidents. As noted in the news annually, on-road driving is the deadliest way of transportation. Participating in a driver education program can shine a light onto the different ways to drive more safe which results in less fatalities. If all drivers have the same background knowledge, there is a lesser chance of accidents because everyone is on the same page. Many studies have been done at surrounding universities that show the ratios between fatal accidents caused by teenagers that take an educational driving course and those that don’t participate in the course. These studies have found that those who do not take the class have a much higher likelihood of belong involved in the dangerous situations. In order to reduce the number of deaths by car crashes, everyone needs to keep up with their vehicular education. As new laws regarding drivers’ safety are being mandated, it is important for everyone to read the yearly updates as changes can and will be made. Not only is taking driver education impactful to reduce the number of accidents but it can also financially benefit students. Many insurance companies are proud to help their safe driving clients by applying discounts to those who take drivers ed and or those who maintain an adequate driving score.

Driving in the state of South Dakota comes with extra precautions due to the vast wildlife. The animal that has the highest rate of being hit by cars across the United States is the deer. Although, no-one can control when and where a deer will run out onto the road, there are safety techniques that should be followed as a way to stay on the safe side. Personally, in November of 2021, I was involved in a near death car accident. While driving home from work a deer ran out in front of me onto the highway. At first, I had not noticed the beast like animal running out in front of me because I was more focused on changing the radio station but at the last second, I had looked up. Due to the facts that I was not on my phone and had my bright beam headlights on, I was able to press the breaks. Unfortunately… it was too late. The last thing I had remembered was the deer and I exchanging the most frightening looks of our lives. Everything went black. Waking up, hearing was muffled, smoke everywhere, and the stench of burning car parts; it took me a minute to realize what had happened. Ironically, the song on the radio at the time was Grandma got Ran over by a Reindeer. First thing I did was locate my phone because my top instinct was to call my parents and tell them about my situation. Looking frantically, I had found my phone smashed under my brake pedal. Stranded. Alone. No way to notify the cops or loved ones.

Nearly an hour later, a friendly couple had stopped to see if I needed help. Noting that my car had died by now, it was five degrees outside, and my only source of brightness was my safety hazard lights. I was relieved that the driver of the car knew to slow down and move over when a stopped car has its flashing lights on. Luckily, they had noticed both my car and I were in bad shape, so they got out to help. Using one of their phones, I first called 9-1-1; I was told they would have an officer to the site right away. Next, I called my mother but got no response. My last hope to contact my family was to call my sister and thankfully she answered. As my sister arrived to calm me down and observe the conditions, the friendly couple was on their way, and they are still known as my heroes to this day. About an hour later the sheriff had finally arrived and had sent me to the ER to receive an evaluation. As the night was concluded, I was diagnosed with a concussion, multiple bone contusions, and insurance told us my car and phone were both totaled yet the main aspect of this memory that sticks out to me is the gratitude towards the helpful couple. It is obvious that they had partaken in a driver education class because of their fast-acting instincts, and they knew exactly what to do. This goes to show that the single most important way to avoid deadly motor vehicle accidents is to simply participate in drivers ed.