The Path to a Safe Drive Home

Driving is essential in nearly every individual’s life. Driving to work, school, buying food, etc plays a big factor in daily life. With the immense presence driving has in modern-day society, gaining a broad foundation of driving is an integral piece to diminishing the number of deaths resulting from reckless driving and all car-related deaths in general.

The most significant element regarding driver education is access to such education. In my personal life, my high school does not offer driver education courses. As a result, I had to do extensive research to find affordable and accessible driving education courses in my area. Having access to driving education courses within school curriculums would demonstrate safety and allow normalized practice. If it were more present and common in high school settings, there would be higher rates of safe driving because of supervised practice at young ages. In many cases, without obtaining a driving education at a young age, individuals resort to unsafe practices. This may include driving with other minors without a permit and license or even attempting to drive alone without supervision. Thus, increasing the implementation of driving training in schools would lead to more safe drivers on the road.

Additionally, lowering the costs of driver’s education and accommodating those in special conditions should be more widespread. As stated previously, I had to seek an affordable driver’s education because my family could not afford a driver’s course that surpassed several hundred dollars. Knowing that there are many individuals who do not have families who can pay for their education or have families at all, makes the situation all but ideal. Increasing affordable costs for driver’s education or aid for those who cannot afford it would benefit the safety of all drivers. Similar to a previous statement, those who do not have the means to enroll in driver’s courses, will end up on the road either way.

Another aspect of financial need is the requirement to have a functional and registered vehicle to pass the behind-the-wheel test to obtain a driver’s license. This regulation may not be administered in all states, but in my experience, my family had to use our personal car used by my single mom who has to use it to drive to work. She actually had to take a day off of work because of the DMV’s schedule only being on work days in typical working hours. This directive can create struggles for many people in many different ways. First, having a fully functional vehicle is a privilege and requires maintenance which not all individuals can carry out. Another reason is how cars for some families are pivotal to their lives; cars act as homes for many, and using their home, which may house more than one individual, can cause problems to arise. Lastly, the DMV’s schedule only being on Mondays through Fridays on typical school and work hours makes it difficult for those who want a license or permit that are students or have work and rely on being consistent in both situations. This strict schedule can restrict one’s livelihood and impact all those around them. Thus, establishing financially accessible driver’s education will result in not only safer drivers but also more thoughtful and appreciative ones.

A specific aspect of those who have specific needs are those who are immigrants or are a part of an immigrant family. Those who do not speak English as a first language leads to a whole new impairment. Although it is common to run into a DMV instructor who may speak common foreign languages in America such as Spanish and Chinese, those who speak small dialects of small countries may find it difficult. This may be in the case of a young adult who is familiar with how driving works in another country but is not familiar with that of driving etiquette and laws in America. Because of this, there should be specific practices that accommodate those who come from different countries that either do not speak English or are not confident in the driving laws of America.

Lastly, one important factor in keeping roads safe is to emphasize and educate from a young age how and why driving safety is important. As a kid, all I heard from adults was either “Don’t drink and drive,” or “Don’t text and drive.” Yes, both of these sentiments are vital regarding safe driving, but there is much more that should be established. What should be emphasized more is what a safe driver does not what dangerous drivers do. Not being a bad driver is much more prioritized than being a patient and tranquil driver. With so much attention given to bad habits of driving, that will result in those behaviors occurring more often because of its continuous presence. For example, if you were to be skiing down a hill, if there was a tree ahead, hearing “There’s a tree!” would only cause you to look at it and react later, whereas if you heard, “Turn the other way!” you would not put your focus on what you should not do. Giving more attention to what drivers should be doing, causes people to follow those behaviors more.

Driver’s education, and access to thereof, is of the utmost importance. These education courses and safe driving should be established in schools, financially accessible, socially available, and emphasize qualities of safe driving. With how prevalent driving is in modern-day society, having a strong understanding of safe driving greatly promotes a safe environment on roads.