Driver education saves lives

As a teenager, driving can be an exciting or a frightening experience, however, it is essential to understand that driving comes with risks. But in understanding the risks that can happen while driving and how to effectively handle certain situations on the road through the use of driver education, people are able to drive safely and in turn, allow the roads and freeways to be a safer place. This allows for driving as a whole to be a safe and untroubling experience and allows for things like collisions or accidents caused by driving to be reduced significantly. In this essay, I will talk about how driver education is an important and crucial part in reducing the number of deaths related to driving and ensuring that everyone on the road is safe.

Driver education provides understanding of the rules of the road and what to do in certain situations. This mostly includes traffic signals, signs, and laws that need to be followed while driving. Sure, we use the knowledge that we get from the drivers ed to pass the written test at the DMV, but we, as users of vehicles, have to put this knowledge into our driving skills always. Understanding that the information given in driver education is something that should be referenced always will allow for safer drivers on the road, making smart decisions. Additionally, driver education also provides hands-on experience that can create good driving habits that can keep you safe. Even learning good habits about using features that pretty much every car has such as learning how to properly adjust mirrors, using your turn signals, and braking effectively. These may be small factors to some, but when driving as a young person with little experience, developing good habits and knowing the rules are very important to know when driving and could just save your life at one point.

To reduce the number of deaths related to driving, it is important to take steps beyond just driver education. One step that can be taken is to enforce somewhat strict penalties for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Impaired driving doesn’t just put the driver’s life in danger, but also endangers the lives of those who are driving around these impaired drivers. Every now and then, the news will talk about a car accident that occurred and it is devastating to see the consequences of these actions, such as injuries or sometimes, death. I believe that these moments on the news highlight the importance of being a responsible driver and taking steps to promote safe driving habits among friends and family. Any form of irresponsable driving should lead to a certain punishment because putting people’s lives in danger is not what allows for a safer driving experience. Creating good driving habits during your first moments of driving on your own is a great and effective way to be safe while driving. This includes avoiding distractions such as cell phones and music, keeping a safe following distance, and being aware of the actions of other drivers around you at all times and while it is always stated pretty much everywhere in driver education, wearing your seatbelt at all times in a vehicle, whether you are driving or just seated in the car, is one of the most popular and important things you’ll hear. Overall, these habits will not only protect the driver but also other passengers and drivers on the road. The biggest way you can promote safe driving, whether as a teenager or an adult, is to lead by example by using your safe driving habits. This means understanding that anyone who is impaired should not be the driver of any vehicle, advocating for safe driving habits among your family members or friends, and reporting unsafe driving behaviors.

In taking my online driver education class and my behind-the-wheel driving sessions, I have come to follow the important safe driving skills and also created some safe driving habits of my own such as turning off my cell phone whenever I am about to drive or to turn down the radio in order to listen to my surroundings. Implementing safe driving habits has allowed for me to be safe, no matter what situation I am in and I think that in order to reduce deaths, driver education is the way to do it. It provides comprehensive knowledge and experience that can help you develop safe driving habits and prevent accidents. I may be a young driver with little time behind the wheel, but I know that in following the rules and safe driving habits, I can be a safer driver and I can encourage and lead an example towards others of what it looks like to be a good driver and, slowly but surely, a safer and more responsible driving community can be made.