Driver Education: The Importance It Holds

Driver education is more important than most students and people realize. The number of death as a result of driving in the United States is around 43,000, and that is just from crashes and not including other factors like drunk driving or texting and driving. However, this information can get overlooked compared to other statistics. As the years go on, it seems the drivers are getting more and more reckless. Nonetheless, with the implementation of driver education, it could greatly reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving by making young drivers more prepared for taking on the road; it also can help by showing certain safety rules to follow, how to identify road signs, and much more! Driver education needs to be addressed more in schools, for students (especially the new drivers) because they are more likely to die in car accidents or be involved in car crashes, most of them fatal.

I personally had a few friends that have tragically lost their lives when driving. Some of them had turned sixteen and were driving too fast on the back roads when they lost control of their car and crashed into a tree, instantly killing them. I remember how much that affected me and my journey to get a driver’s license. I was so terrified of driving, thinking that it could happen to me as well if it so easily happened to my friends. I put off getting my driver’s license for about five months, before I finally got the courage and support to go ahead and obtain it. Over the years, I keep seeing young members of the community get killed because of lack of driver education. I always wondered about the fact that if driver education was pushed more on younger kids, that if some people, including my friends, would be alive today.

That being said, there are multiple steps that I can take to be a better and safer driver, that also help others become safer on the road. First and foremost, obeying traffic signals and recognizing blinkers or break lights would be a huge step in the right direction. It is amazing to see how many people are not observant of when a light changes, someone puts a blinker on to change lanes, or if someone is braking ahead to stop. On the flip side, people also need to be using their blinker and braking way. Those are some great ways to avoid accidents. I personally have been thankful I am observant enough to notice when cars are trying to switch lanes or stop suddenly by looking ahead for break lights and keeping my head on a swivel. Another big thing in this day and age to stay safe on the roads is to not use my phone when driving. Phones are a huge distraction to drivers, and I have seen so many wrecks happen in front of me all because someone wasn’t paying attention, or they were on their phone. Texting, calling, or even just swiping through apps or music can cost someone their life. It only takes a split second for something to go wrong because someone is distracted by a phone. Besides distracted driving from phones, I think that I can help out the most by modeling what a good driver should look like. The safer driver I am means that people are going to be safe around me on the roads. I have to make sure my driving methods are safe for others to be around because when I am not practicing driver safety then I could become just another number to add to the statistic of deaths from driving.

Based on all of the information from above, it seems pretty clear to me that driving education is something that is way more important than people may think. Think of the number of lives that could be saved because we did something simply like obey a traffic light or put our blinker on. Making small changes at a time to become a better driver will ultimately lead to less deaths, and most importantly a chance to live another day. Let us strive to be better drivers, and strive to get the death toll from driving down to zero. Like Aiden Tozer said, “The driver on the highway is safe not when he reads the signs, but when he obeys them”.