The importance of driver education

Driving safely is very important not only to keep the driver safe but also passengers and other people on the road. I participated in a driver education class and felt that it really helped me to understand the rules of the road better than if I had not taken it. I feel that driver education is very important in reducing deaths caused by accidents because the more that people know about safe driving the better. I have noticed that a lot of people don’t know how to drive properly. Some of the things that I’ve seen that could cause serious accidents are not being able to merge or yield correctly. I also notice that a lot of drivers don’t stay a safe distance from the vehicle in front of them. This is very dangerous if you would have to stop quickly. I feel that if more people took a driver education class then they may know some of these basics.

There are some steps that can be taken in order to reduce the number of deaths caused by driving. First, everyone needs to wear a seatbelt, including those in the backseat. Car companies should make a warning sound standard in vehicles which would force people to wear their seatbelt more consistently. Also, there should be stricter penalties for driving drunk or impaired. There are so many people who drink and then drive. You hear many stories about people who have had multiple DUIs before a they were involved in a fatal crash. If their punishment would have been stricter to begin with then they may not have gotten to the point of causing serious injury or death. I think if there were better public transportation options in cities then people would be more likely to take advantage of that instead of getting into car. I also think that parents need to have open communication with their kids and their friends about the importance of having a sober driver. Sometimes parents think by avoiding the conversation that it will never happen but most of the time it still does. I think if kids felt more comfortable to call their parents when they were in a bad situation then we could avoid some of the teen drunk driving crashes.

I personally have not been in a car accident where people have been driving irresponsibly. I have been a passenger in a minor car accident where the other vehicle did not yield correctly. That could have been easily avoided if the other driver would have known how to yield properly. The crazy thing about that situation is the driver of the other car was an adult and blamed my friend who was a teen driver saying she didn’t know what she was doing. The police did confirm that the adult driver was the one who did not yield properly. I have been in vehicles where people have been driving irresponsibly. One of the most common things I’ve seen is being distracted by a cell phone. They are not always distracted by texting but also using the phone to play music. It would be much safer if everyone had ways to control the music apps handsfree. Another example that I can share is a time with my sister where a friend picked her up from a birthday party and that friend decided to take several other people home. There were more people in the car than there were seatbelts so everyone was not able to wear a seatbelt. Thankfully they did not have an accident, and no one was hurt but that could have turned out terrible if they had.

I think the most important steps I can take to be a safe driver is to pay attention and reduce distractions. When I first got my drivers license, my mom always told me that my life and the life of others was in my hands, and I really try to take that to heart. I would hate to get in an accident that could be avoided and possibly hurt someone else. I think we can all help each other to be safer drivers several ways. First, we can try not to distract people when we are riding with them. We can also be sure to have a designated driver and be certain that we don’t let friends or family drive if they are not able to. And finally, I think that a driver education class should be required before you get your drivers license because just studying for the test isn’t enough. The driver education classes definitely let you learn more in depth about how to be safe when driving.