Name: Mercedes Allain
From: Bangor , Maine
Votes: 1
Mercedes Allain
3/15/19
The Importance of
Drivers ed. And Being A Safe Driver
Driving safety is
extremely important to me, the biggest reason being that my cousin
passed away in a car accident in May of last year. I took drivers ed
about a year ago and I am so glad I did, I didn’t realize how much
I didn’t know. I looked up some statistics about deaths in drivers
that took drivers ed vs. those who didn’t. The study I found showed
that drivers who do not complete a drivers ed course are “75% more
likely to get a traffic ticket, 24% more likely to be involved in a
fatal or injury accident and 16% more likely to be in an accident.”
Thats crazy! It shows that drivers ed significantly reduces the
amount of crashes and even traffic tickets ( the study I read focused
on young drivers). In my personal experience drivers ed taught me
things that I wouldn’t have ever thought of, such as that you can’t
only focus on your driving but you have to pay attention to everyone
else on the road. I actually had a scary experience in drivers ed, I
was on a drive with my instructor and I was waiting at a light and
when it turned green so I proceeded to take my turn, and what I
hadn’t noticed is that someone ran a redlight and was heading right
towards me. If my driving instructor didn’t see them a split second
before I did, It would have resulted in a head on collision. What I
learned from that is that accidents happen SO fast, and that you have
to pay such close attention to your surroundings. If I hadn’t taken
drivers ed. I can tell you that I probably wouldn’t be as safe as a
driver as I am today.
I
know that in most states you don’t have to take drivers ed after
you turn 18, I think that is a terrible idea. I believe that drivers
ed should be required for anyone to get your license no matter your
age. Now I know that drivers ed is expensive, believe me, so there
would have to be steps taken to make drivers ed more affordable and
available for everyone. Like I mentioned previously, statistics show
that drivers who complete drivers ed are less likely to be in an
accident, or get a ticket. Personally I have only been in one
accident but it was no ones fault, my mother was driving and the
roads were slippery and the snow packed onto her tire and we slid
down a hill into a guardrail, thankfully no one was injured. However
like I mentioned in the beginning, my cousin tyler was killed in a
car accident last may. He and his friends went out for food in the
early hours of the morning, the driver had just gotten his license
and was tired but decided to drive anyways. What my family and myself
have been told is that the driver started to doze off and he lost
control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. Tylers seat belt was
either not on correctly or he wasn’t wearing it and he was thrown
from the car and killed instantly. Even though this was a tragic loss
for myself and my family, I learned from it. I was still in drivers
ed at the time so I shared this story with my peers, the lessons I
took from this are, one, wear your seat belt and wear it correctly,
two, drive responsibly especially if you have others in the car, if
you know you are too tired to drive, DO NOT DRIVE, and three, your
family does not want to get the call that you’re not going to be
coming home because you decided to drive irresponsibly or that you
decided not to wear your seat belt/wear it correctly. Tyler was only
17.
The
main steps you can take to be a safer driver are, educate yourself,
drive responsibly(and know what that entails), know your limits and
DO NOT try to “pass” them, and please (even if you’re 18 and
live in New Hampshire) wear your seat belt! This is coming from
someone who knows what it’s like to lose a family member to
something that could have been prevented.
Works Cited:
University
of Nebraska-Lincoln. “Study: Drivers Ed Significantly Reduces Teen
Crashes, Tickets.” Study:
Drivers Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets | News
Releases | University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study%3A+Driver%27s+ed+significantly+reduces+teen+crashes%2C+tickets.
