Making the Choice to Drive Safely

Driving is a series of choices, and driver’s education helps student drivers learn how to make the correct ones. Driver’s education allows students to gain experience under the instruction of an experienced driver. It supplements the instruction received by parents or guardians by providing a more structured and streamlined learning environment. The set guidelines and efficient instruction enables students to learn safe and correct driving methods both in the classroom and applied behind the wheel.

According to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, “young drivers who have not completed driver’s education are 75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident, and 16 percent more likely to have an accident.” Since these incidents are especially prevalent in new young drivers, educating them is especially important to reduce the total number of fatalities, injuries, and accidents.

Moreover, driver’s education can dispel any bad habits that have formed during a teen’s journey for a license. Parents, who are the teachers for most of the teen’s driving journey, may teach based on outdated practices that may have recently been proven less safe. A licensed driver’s education teacher can help show the teen safer practices to use on the road. If a teen driver has no driving experience prior to taking the course, they can later use what they learned to correct their parents if they are taught to do something that contradicts it.

One of the most important things to do to be a better and safer driver and reduce the number of deaths related to driving is to wear a seatbelt. Seatbelts prevent people from being ejected from the vehicle or colliding with what is in front of them by tightening immediately when a crash occurs, according to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. This has been shown to work time and time again, both in the front seats and back seats of the vehicle. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seatbelts saved around 14,955 lives in 2017. It is important to take a few seconds to buckle up before you ride.

Additionally, minimizing distractions is a must-do. Distractions include texting, calling, and eating in the vehicle. These activities take focus away from the road for seconds, which may seem like a short amount of time, but can amount to hundreds of feet traveled blindly. In 2020, distracted driving killed over three thousand people, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This doesn’t need to happen. Keep phones away or on Do Not Disturb while driving and don’t eat while driving; it could save lives.

Moreover, practicing defensive driving rather than aggressive driving and speeding is key to staying safe on the road. Aggressive driving is often caused by factors such as traffic, a time crunch, the feeling that there are no consequences to one’s actions, and a disregard for the safety of oneself and others. It is characterized by excessive speeding, lane changes, and unpredictable behavior. This makes it easier to lose control of the vehicle and often makes crashes that would have been minor much more severe. I was once in the car with a person driving irresponsibly on a highway, going over 65 miles per hour. After someone cut closely in front of them on the highway, they accelerated quickly and swerved in front of them again. This caused the other driver to reciprocate, doing the same thing. It was incredibly dangerous and almost led to an accident. I remember feeling scared at the moment; it truly could have been deadly.

Aggressive driving is harmful both to the driver and to other vehicles on the road. However, there are ways to reduce the risk of getting into an accident with an aggressive driver. Avoid getting too close to other drivers, and if other drivers get too close to you, allow them to pass rather than speeding up. If another driver is driving immensely over the speed limit, do not attempt to match their speed; simply try to stay out of their way. Similarly, avoid retaliation and driving aggressively in response to another driver’s aggressive driving.

Driving is a series of choices–it is as safe as you make it. Just as the choice to wear a seatbelt can save your life, the choice to answer a text from a friend can cost you your life–and others. Safer roads come from each driver making the choice to be a responsible driver: someone who wears a seatbelt and encourages others to, minimizes distractions, and practices defensive rather than aggressive driving. We can all work together to reduce the number of accidents, injuries, and deaths in the car, one choice at a time.