The Importance of Driver’s Ed

My middle school bully died of a car crash. I can’t even remember what he looks like; I can’t remember the things he said to me, or how it really made me feel at the time – but I remember this: the feeling of shock and an overwhelming fear.

About four years ago I started driving; but I only think about that seminar our school gave about responsible dy got my first actual license about a year and a half ago. I learned driving through my parents – it was part of my 14th birthday gift, the same year that my middle school bully passed away. I didn’t touch the wheel for a year afterwards.

It was only when I turned 17 that I finally got my license, and I fell in love with driving. First time I drove my car – a 1977 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, I was frightened. I kept remembering the kid who bullied me in middle school. When I first got behind the wheel, all I could do was drive and driver’s safety.

People tend to think that driver’s education is about maintaining and taking care of their vehicle, but they seem to always miss the first word there. Driver.

Learning how to drive is like a second skin for many Americans. We need cars, and in fact, in 2021, there are over 278 million registered vehicles in the country (Forbes, 2023). In theory, this means that we have tens of thousands of hundreds million well-educated and registered drivers, and yet car crashes are so frequent here (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, 2022).

Learning about driver’s safety is important because it not only encourages responsible driving but also ensures the safety of everyone – the driver, passengers, and people outside the vehicles. It’s not just about the safety of the driver and passengers inside the car, but for everyone on the road. Making driving lessons mandatory in schools and providing more practical experience behind the wheel is an effective way to minimize car-related injuries and accidents.

In fact, a new study conducted by the University of Nebraska stating that “more than 150,000 teen drivers over eight years has found that driver’s education significantly reduces crashes and traffic violations among new drivers”

Personally, I’ve not been in a car accident. I had to learn driver’s safety with fear and actual possibility of being in an accident. However, this shouldn’t be the way people learn. Reducing road accidents, and especially deaths related to it, is a two-part effort from both the drivers and the government.

As a driver, we need to have the right attitude when driving. At the forefront of reducing road accidents, early driver’s education in school comes first. Teenagers often lack the experience and knowledge about safe driving practices, and may not fully understand the risks and consequences of their actions on the road. By spearheading early driver’s education at school, students are given a place to learn the laws and rules of the road, defensive driving, statistics and data about car-related accidents, and the importance of having a responsible attitude whenever they get behind the wheel.

Vehicle safety and proper maintenance plays a huge role as well. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best driver in the world. If you don’t know how to maintain your car and keep it road-safe, you still pose a danger to everyone. In order for a safer driving experience, drivers must use their safety constraints properly like seatbelt and check.

The government can improve their roads, which can make the driving experience much safer for others. They should also enforce more driving laws, such as speeding and street light laws because these things can have a better impact not only on traffic but on lowering the rate of reckless drivers out on the road .

In addition, the government can promote more driver safety campaigns to not only educate new drivers, but also remind old and more experienced drivers of our road safety laws. It can also boost awareness of making cars even more safer, so that the car manufacturers can improve on their car safety designs.

I was able to put what I’ve learned in middle school to practice with my first car. Sure, driving a land-yacht around can be dangerous to new and reckless drivers, considering the amount of very few safety constraints that this vehicle has, but it’s taught me how to be more self-aware of my own surroundings and I was able to experience the importance of driving safely. Being a better driver takes practice, and practicing on safe and well-maintained roads increases safety for everyone.

As for me, though I am only 18, I can help create a safer environment for everyone by observing the speed limits. I never drink-and-drive and I always wear my seatbelt. If I see any friends or family who don’t do those things, I am quick to remind them that their lives are important to the people who love them. Above all, keeping a responsible attitude and being courteous to other drivers on the road and outside of it ensures that there are no unnecessary road rages, which often leads to violence.

It’s been years since that middle school incident happened. Although I am a more confident and safer driver now, it still saddens me to think about how many young and inexperienced drivers get into serious and fatal incidents due to the lack of proper driver’s education. Driver’s safety ensures that we get less and less of these kinds of accidents, and that’s why it’s important and impactful in my life.

SOURCES

Adams, Christopher. “Car Ownership Statistics: An In-Depth Look.” Forbes Advisor, 26 Jan. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/car-insurance/car-ownership-statistics/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2023.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. “State-by-State: Fatality Statistics.” IIHS, 2022, https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/state-by-state.

Newman, Ian & Shell, Duane. “Study: Driver’s ed significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets.” University of Nebraska-Lincoln Newsroom, 13 Aug. 2015, https://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study:+Driver’s+ed+significantly+reduces+teen+crashes,+tickets.