The Importance of Driver’s Education

I’m 34 years old, living in Columbus, Ohio. Today, I don’t have a driver’s license, but by the end of the calendar year 2025 I will obtain the first driver’s license. I’ll admit I have not been interested in driving for myself at all. Living in a robust city with adequate public transportation, I never had a need for a license of my own. I work and grocery using the public transportation system along with convenient ride sharing apps. I seem to get around pretty good not withstanding some timing issues and surge charges at peak times. All and all, I’m generally satisfied with not driving and not owning a car. Why is that? What makes a fully grown adult so opposed to learning the basic skill of driving? Why is obtaining a license and a vehicle simply not relevant to my day-to-day lifestyle? I hope to be able to answer these questions with my answers to the prompted questions of the Driver Education Initiative Award – Annual Scholarship Opportunity. 

As a young adult I became first aware of the importance of driver education. As I muddled through high school my friends and classmates obtained their permits and licenses. It was a cause for celebration and convenience off campus lunches and trips to the mall. When I got into college as an unlicensed freshman, I was blindsided with the realities of the high numbers of deaths because of driving. A dorm-mate of mine invited me to her hometown of Minster, Ohio where she graduated from Minster High School. I noticed a poster on her wall above her bed with about 30 classmates on it. When I asked her who those students were and if we’d be meeting them at the Oktoberfest celebrations? With a sad reply she informed me that the students on this poster were deceased. Tragically they had all passed away in driving accidents. I couldn’t believe it at first, so I needed clarification. She explained to me that those some 30 or so classmates of hers, were deceased and had died in car accidents over the span of the school year. I don’t know the circumstances of any of these accidents, however the seriousness of operating a motor vehicle has always weighed heavy on my heart, knowing that my dorm-mate and friend had lost so many of her friends and classmates so early in life and so tragically. With that said, my friend is an amazing driver herself. It was so easy to be comfortable in her passenger seat, knowing I was safe with every ride we took. Always knowing that driver education is extremely important to reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving.

A step that should be taken to reduce the amount of deaths related to driving is to continue periodic education requirements. These periodic education requirements are just updates on what drivers already have shown to have knowledge of in the written portion of the driver’s test. This is a shorter test that has basic questions but, a timed assessment taken after the first two years of driving. This could ensure that the driver has retained the knowledge they learned when first obtaining their license to drive. Perhaps the results of such a test should allow for more informed drivers to qualify for insurance cost reductions. Since we know that newer drivers are often charged a higher price in car insurance due to lack of experience.

There are a lot of things to learn when it comes to the rules of the road. I don’t have much experience driving but just about everyone I know has had many relatives with SR22 insurance policy requirements. I have relatives who weren’t aware that driving a 2 wheeled motor vehicle required a license. Driving irresponsibly is something that is often unmentioned. Carelessness on the road is far too common regardless of demographic. There are drivers who drive way above the speed limit regularly and other drivers who don’t pay attention to bikers in bike lanes.

So the only steps that I can take to ensure that I am a safe driver and to help others be as safe on the road as possible, is to remind myself and others to stay calm and slow down. Reminding myself and others on the road that driving faster doesn’t get you to your destination any quicker. Rather if you leave the house a few minutes earlier you could make it to your destination on time and possibly even early. So relax while driving and I hope that I can relax when I’m on the road. As a new driver I’ll spend a lot of time in the right lane. Just like the old adage says “slow and steady always wins the race.”

What has taken me so long to get my license? At 34 I don’t have an excuse or an explanation. I just know that I have never been afraid to catch a bus, to get somewhere, to walk, so I’ve walked miles to destinations. I feel as though as long as I have two feet and working limbs I should be able to move. Does it cause wear and tear and exhaustion? Yes it does! Still I’ve never used it as an excuse not to get up, not to move, and not to be active. Over the years my body has changed it’s shape and in a good way. I’ve always encouraged those who also found themselves not mobile to have determination to make it to work, anyway. I sound like a broken record to the people that I know when I reflect on my parents journeys to work and how I watched my mother get up in the morning and walk to Broad Street Bagel. On Broad Street in downtown Columbus. Then I mentioned how my father lost his license due to non payment of child support and rode a bike to his job at night. Ultimately he was the victim of a hit and run that left him disabled. But that drive and the determination to work anyway never left him. Even in a disabled status he fantasized about going back to work. So naturally not having a driver’s license never bothered me. As I entered the workforce, I found it easy to work alongside the schedule of public transit. In the midst of the COVID pandemic of 2020, I didn’t complain about the bus schedule changing. Instead, I made room in my budget for ride-share transportation. I balanced myself daily by using both ride-share apps and public transit to get me where I needed to be, on time.

Now that I’m 34 years old I’m realizing that anything could happen while at the bus stop. I’m less comfortable before the sun rises than when I was in my 20s. It’s a different world for all of us. As time goes on and as I continue to age my mortality becomes more of a reality. So there’s no time like the present to learn a new skill or several. I recognize that I’ve become complacent and stagnant. I’ve made excuses over the years about why I don’t drive. Only to just realize that my unwillingness to drive a motor vehicle is simply my own laziness. I’ve spent years in the warehouse attempting to prove to myself and to my superiors that I am anything but lazy. I claim to know what lazy is and I’ve been overly productive to combat the assumption of laziness. Yet at the same time I’ve done nothing in my personal life to change the perception that I’m lazy. I assumed that having a job and working it well was proof enough that I couldn’t be lazy. I show up to work presentable and alert. My intentions were to be a model employee. Not the kind of employee that is perfect by any means, I’m not perfect. They’re the kind of employee that any supervisor or manager can point to as an example of clear work ethic. Now I’m realizing that I have to translate that work ethic and determination into learning to operate a vehicle. Ultimately it’s about my own safety and my own Peace of Mind. To be honest, I was beeped at in the crosswalk today. Constantly have to be on alert as a pedestrian. So this time it’s time and I’ve got to “put the pedal to the metal,” as they say.

Finally I’ll mention my grandfather and his need to drive freely. More often than not people tell me that driving is about freedom. This is very much true and I’ve witnessed what that freedom truly is. My grandfather Ronald was a car enthusiast just like my father Daniel. He loved his vehicles, they were like life-size toys in his eyes and he loved to play every day. The man suffered a stroke while driving and by the grace of God was able to drive himself to safety. After suffering a second stroke, I can recall his Doctor’s exact words before his discharge from the hospital. The doctor said to him explicitly, ”Mr. Ellis you are not allowed to drive when you get home.” We were then dropped off at his home. There his car sat in front of his residence. I remember my grandfather walking into his home, at this point he had one functioning arm, as a result of stroke #2. He sat and he contemplated for about 5 minutes. Finally he rose from the living room chair, grabbed his keys, walked outside and got into his black Lincoln town car. Against his doctor’s orders I watched as he Started his car and drove it. I often tell this story in such a braggadocios way that it’s almost unbelievable. Witnessing something like that is being a witness to self-determination. That kind of self determination, desire, and will to attain freedom is something I’ll never forget. It’s become clear to me that if freedom is what I desire the most in this life, then I need to drive.