Regarding Education: We Should All Keep Learning.

I always said that the day I turned 16 I would take my driver’s test and earn my license. I was on track with my permit and driving hours and I felt prepared and educated on the rules of the road, enough to be confident that I could safely and successfully complete the driver’s exam. My dad, of course, disagreed. Any parent who has experienced teaching a teenager how to drive can relate to the overwhelming nerves that come with not only letting them take the wheel but giving them the permission and freedom to actually drive by themselves. Safety has always been a huge concern in my family, especially around driving, and I had never quite understood the importance of that until I, myself, had gotten into a car accident which could have been avoided.

When I first began learning how to drive and studying for my permit and license exam I studied harder than I had for any standardized test because I knew that lives were on the line (i.e. my social life). However, there is only so much practicing and learning that one can do in the span of 6 months. Lack of thorough education and experience is the main cause of crashes in teenage driving; in 2020, 2,276 people were killed in car accidents involving 15-18 year old drivers (NHTSA, 2020). The significant disconnect between the importance of education and new drivers can be seen in not only the number of crashes, but the number of those crashes that had teenage drivers not following what they should have learned during driver’s education. Of the individuals who died in the crashes listed above, 52% of the drivers were driving without a seatbelt (NHTSA, 2020), one of the top rules of safety while driving. This furthers the importance that comes with educating drivers on the rules of the road. Had these individuals been properly educated and shown the importance of the safety precautions taken when driving, they still may be alive today. Most teens, myself included, think that driving is an open door of possibilities to more freedom and an increased itinerary for hangouts with friends, however, it can be a death sentence when driver’s education is not taken seriously.

Education is key to preventing death and any harm caused by vehicle accidents. This does not just mean education in a classroom or online setting, it means education from parents and guardians on the importance of safety when operating a vehicle. This includes actual teaching and learning by example; teens and learning drivers are a product of their environment, demonstrating proper driving practices (non-distracted driving, no cell phone use, seatbelt on, calm demeanor) will do more for them than any driver’s education course. Legally speaking, a few more ways that may decrease the amounts of deaths and accidents are extending the amount of time that one must have a permit for and increasing the amount of required practice hours. More experience with a supervisor, whether that be an instructor or parent or guardian, will be very beneficial. There are already many regulations in place regarding what is known as “risky” behaviors with driving; laws assisting with the enforcement of any “buckle-up,” zero-tolerance, driving under the influence and distracted driving laws. However, some of these laws do not come with enough enforcement or education to be effective. According to AAAM (Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine), the laws that cause the most change follow the “three E’s” which are the actual enactment of a law, education on the law and enforcement of said law (Chase, 2014). Using this three E’s approach, it was shown that the use of seatbelts increased from 14% to 86% over the span of 30 years demonstrating how vital it is to not just educate the community on safe driving practices, but to enforce these practices as well.

Understanding the importance of safety when driving is what prevents most accidents from happening. If I had fully grasped how my actions while driving would affect me, then I would have prevented the car accident that I had gotten into a little under two years after getting my license. On a round-a-bout–which most individuals in the U.S. have trouble using due to lack of practice and education–that I took multiple times everyday, I was driving behind an SUV. I was rushing to get my brother home so I could get to work, we had music blasting and we were talking loudly to each other. I did not see the car in front of me braking to a complete stop until it was already too late and I rear-ended the vehicle. Everyone was completely okay aside from my front and her rear bumper but I was shaken beyond belief. I could not believe I had been so careless as to let something like that happen, especially with my brother in the car. I believed that I was a professional and well-rounded driver that was beyond the point of possible accidents, and in doing so, I became too comfortable and put three lives on the line. From then on I have taken multiple steps to not have a repeat of what happened. I turn my music down, I avoid distractions and I keep my eyes on as much of the road as I can and I encourage others to do the same. Some may call this “backseat driving,” however I would rather be considered annoying and alive as opposed to the alternative.

Comfortability, though, is what happens to many individuals. Teenagers and adults believe that they have successfully passed their trial on driving and can do things such as use their phone, drink and/or smoke (specifically marijuana), and drive while distracted at no cost to others. This raises the question of where possible re-education may come in. When an individual runs a red light, they have the option to go to traffic school to negate the cost of the ticket, however, this should not be the only time where people should have to retake a course on driving. Many jobs, wherein the employees operate either very important or dangerous machinery, go through testing processes periodically over the course of their career. Doctors have to maintain current education in order to renew their license to practice. Why should driving be any different? There will always be lives on the line when driving. As much as it is not addressed, a car is one of the most easily obtained and dangerous things someone can operate, making it clear that education and re-education is vital to the safety of anyone on the road.

Chase, Catherine. “U.S. State and Federal Laws Targeting Distracted Driving.” Association for the

Advancement of Automotive Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2014,

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24776229/.

NHTSA. “Teen Driving.” NHTSA, 2020, https://www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/teen-driving.