Driver Education Initiative – The Importance of Healthy Driving Habits

Dani
Trangmoe

DMVedu.org
Scholarship

Road
Safety Habits

30
November 2019

The
Importance of Healthy Driving Habits

When
most people imagine what they are most afraid of, they imagine
spiders or clowns. Unsafe driving is what we should really be afraid
of. Road accidents are the number one cause of death in people aged
sixteen to nineteen, and the eighth most common cause of
death worldwide. By building healthy driving habits, each and every
one of us can help decrease the amount of deaths on the road.

One
of the most essential factors in building healthy driving habits is
drivers ed. Statistics show that students who went through
drivers ed programs are involved in less accidents and
receive less driving infractions than drivers who are educated by
their parents. This is due to several factors: kids listen
better to professionals, driving instructors are trained to provide
the best education, and students get more driving experience when
they take part in a structured driving education course. Driver’s
education also helps to prevent young drivers from developing poor
habits before they even get behind the wheel.
For all of these reasons, drivers who attended drivers ed
classes are less likely to cause road accidents. Because of the
obvious correlation between attending drivers ed courses
and being a safer driver, making drivers ed mandatory to
receive a license would help decrease the amount of deaths on our
roads.

Other
factors, such as distracted driving, contribute significantly to the
number of driving related deaths. Distracted driving is especially
prevalent among young drivers. As a high school student, I frequently
witnessed students texting and driving. When I was in the car, I
always asked them to put away their device. Distracted driving may
seem like an innocent habit, but all it takes is one accident to
change your own or someone else’s life forever. Apple and other
phone companies have added features that reduce the temptation to
text while driving, and laws regarding distracted driving have become
stricter in recent years. However, the most effective way to combat
this issue is something that each and every one of us can do; we can
focus on building healthy habits for ourselves and others. When the
temptation to pick up the phone comes, we must practice self-control
and remind ourselves that nothing that could ever happen on a cell
phone is worth risking your life for. We can also remind friends and
loved ones to keep the same thing is mind when they have the
temptation to text and drive.

Through
drivers ed and encouraging those around us to avoid using
their phones
while driving, each of us can contribute to making the roads a safer
place. Both of these activities allow us to build safe driving
habits. If every driver on the road dedicates a small fraction of
their energy to making sure to be well educated and aware on the
road, deaths due to driving will significantly decrease.

Works
Cited

DriversEd.com.
“The How And Why Of Drivers ed.” The How And Why Of
Drivers ed – DriversEd.com, Driversed.com,
driversed.com/driving-information/the-driving-privilege/the-how-and-why-of-drivers-education.aspx.

“Teen
Driver Car Accident Statistics & Facts.” Edgarsnyder.com,
Edgar Snyder,
www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/who-was-injured/teen/teen-driving-statistics.html.

“The
Top 10 Causes of Death.” World Health Organization, World
Health Organization, 24 May 2018,
www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death.