Thoughts and Ideas to Benefit the Future of Driving Education

Aaron
Le

DMV
EDU

Scholarship

March
28, 2020

Thoughts
and Ideas to Benefit the Future of Driving Education

Last
October I was able to pass my driver’s test, so driver’s
education is still relatively fresh in my mind. Drivers ed
is very important because it brings awareness about the dangers of
driving and how we as new drivers can stay safe for ourselves and
others. Lots of teenagers like myself are very naive before the
drivers ed course and we think that driving is a piece of
cake. That is a very teenage mindset, but we feel like we are
unstoppable. By having a drivers ed I was able to see the
reality and what I need to do if I wanna stay alive while driving.
Drivers ed has its purpose and it’s able to educate lots of
naive people from doing the wrong things while driving. As people
learn about safe driving, it helps the numbers of deaths to most
certainly be reduced. It allows new drivers to be more aware of their
actions and to look out for others. The education can show people
whether they are most certainly ready to take on a huge
responsibility and if they are not, then they can wait to get their
license. The education should allow a prospective driver to
acknowledge that driving is dangerous, so if it is taught properly,
people will drive safer. They should not fear driving while learning,
but they should have a sense of responsibility, so that no life is
lost due to driving. That is why the education is so important, it
helps people understand this new machine that they will be in control
of and how they should use it properly and maturely.

There
are many steps to reduce the numbers of deaths due to driving,
however I feel as though they are two specific steps that need to be
done. The first step is to have driving teachers during every driving
session with a student to go over safety and precautions about
driving every time, there is a lesson. At first, this idea may seem
rather unnecessary, however I know lots of people that are reckless
drivers at such a young age already and I feel like their driving
instructors are to blame. From my experience, while I was being
instructed I was not being reminded about the safety and precautions
of driving over and over. I feel like it did have an effect on how I
drive, but I am not saying I am driving while I am texting or
distracted while driving. Sometimes I just do not remind myself about
the responsibility of driving while I am driving and it could be
dangerous. Going over the safety and precautions over and over to a
new driver may be an annoyance to them, but it will get the idea
stuck in their heads. If they are reminded constantly, they will be
more inclined to remember those safety precautions when they finally
get their license. It is to not scare them, but to help them become a
mature person on the road, who is looking out for others and
themselves. My second step would be to stop ads that try to scare
drivers about driving drunk or texting. I understand that it is
supposed to help, however, in most of these types of ads that I have
seen, it always shows something horrendous in it and I find it
unnecessary. If you want people to learn and fully embrace those
types of messages, it should be done in a way that does not scare
them. These ads should show driving educators giving a message so
that people can watch it and actually learn something, instead of
showing a car crash and dead bodies. There needs to be a new approach
to educate others in these ads, then scaring them because it will not
do any good.

Luckily
for me I have never been in a car accident, but I have seen friends
drive recklessly. The extent of their recklessness is using their
phones while driving to change a song and cutting people off. I know
for a fact that no one is a perfect driver and that we all have our
“flaws” while driving. I did not go full parent mode on my
friends when I saw them on their phones while driving, but I did ask
them to put it away and just remind them that they are driving. Now
reflecting back on these situations, I should probably do the same
thing by reminding them, but if they do not listen I should tell them
that I will not be going in their car. It is hard for friends to say
this to one another, but it should be done when the driver is not
compliant. Steps that I can take to be a safer driver is having less
road rage and I should follow the speed limit more. Sometimes when I
get cut off or someone goes too slow for my liking I end up getting
pretty mad and that does affect my driving. I understand I need to be
more aware when I am driving and I am going to be less angry while
driving. I will just drive calm and smooth, so that my road rage does
no harm. As for the speeding, I will make sure that I know the speed
limit in the area I am and adhere to it better. I do not mean to
speed sometimes, I just drive and do not think. Once again, being
more aware while driving is definitely the biggest step I need to
take, so that I can make myself and others safe.