Who You Gonna Call? No One – You’re Driving!

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, last year roughly 42,795 Americans died in motor vehicle crashes, which works out to about 117 people every day. These people who died equal more fatalities in a year than Americans who died in the Korean War. How can so many deaths be prevented? Since teenagers are more likely to be involved in car accidents than adults – about three times more likely, according to cdc.gov – preventing teen car accidents is one of the greatest impacts that can reduce these deaths. I strongly believe that the best way for this to happen is to reduce distracted driving, which can be done by making completion of driver education a requirement to obtain a driver’s license.

Driver’s education is essential for many reasons, and it significantly impacts how teenagers drive. In a practical sense, driver’s ed teaches how to operate a vehicle and follow traffic laws. However, driver’s ed also explains the importance of driving safely. Teens who take driver’s ed learn how to drive defensively. They also learn to be aware of their surroundings and drive cautiously instead of recklessly. Often, teenagers approach driving with a carefree attitude. Taking driver’s ed, they can learn how driving distracted, even for mere seconds, can end in disaster. When teens learn the gravity of the situation and the importance of driving alert, it can humble their carefree attitudes. Driver’s ed shows teenagers that driving is a serious business, and it teaches them the skills and responsibility to be safe drivers.

In 2015, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studied how driver’s education impacted teenage driving records. This study is significant because Nebraska law dictates that students have only two paths to a license – either through driver’s education or by logging driving hours under adult supervision. Since most US states require a mixture of the two, a study in Nebraska will have precise, solid results. This study is further proven by its sheer magnitude – it followed 151,800 teen drivers over eight years. The results showed that, indeed, driver’s education does make a difference in teen driving. Teenagers who took driver’s ed had significantly fewer accidents than those who logged driving hours. Additionally, 11.1 percent of driver’s ed students were involved in a car crash compared to 12.9 percent of the others. 10.4 percent of the driver’s education group were ticketed for traffic violations, compared to 18.3 percent of the other group. Finally, 2.1 percent of those who took driver’s education were involved in an accident that caused injury or death, compared to 2.6 percent of those who did not. Though these percentage differences may seem small, in a group of over 150,000, it means the difference of hundreds to thousands of students. In the end, “teens taking driver education are less likely to be involved in crashes or to receive a traffic violation during their first two years of driving,” the researchers concluded. “Because teen crashes and fatality rates are highest at ages 16-18, these reductions are especially meaningful. Driver education appears to make a difference in teen traffic outcomes at a time when risk is highest.”

I am very thankful that I have never experienced being in a car accident, but I have friends and family members who have, and I have also witnessed a few. Experiences like these have strengthened my commitment to be a responsible driver and never allow myself to become distracted. As easy as it is to pick up my phone at a red light, driver’s ed taught me that it’s just not worth it. Every day when I leave work, I have to turn left onto Elm Street — a busy road with high traffic. Even though it always takes a long time for an opening in traffic to emerge, I wait patiently to ensure I can make it safely. Being patient and not letting other cars pressure you is one of the most critical safe driving practices, and I make sure to share this practice with others. The patience I’ve learned from Elm Street can save my life, and I know it can also save others.

Certainly, driver’s education makes a difference in teen driving habits. One call or text can be the difference between life and death, and those who take driver’s ed are much less likely to be the ones chatting. Preventing distracted driving saves lives, and this makes the most impact on teen drivers. Driver’s ed is one of the most effective ways to do this, and if the completion of driver’s ed became a requirement to obtain a license, fewer people would die in car crashes. Additionally, this regulation would have a greater impact if adults were also required to take a version of driver’s ed dedicated to preventing distracted driving. Refresher courses offered every several years would also help. If these regulations were implemented and distracted driving was reduced, the annual American car crash death rate may no longer rival that of wars.