The Importance of Driver Education for Young Individuals

Participating in and completing some form of a Driver’s Education program is incredibly important for reducing the number of deaths caused by vehicle accidents. In these classes, students are taught all the rules of the road, and safe driving habits and techniques, allowing them to be proficient in any conditions that occur while on the road. The more experienced and educated young adults become behind the wheel, the more likely they are to make quick and informed decisions at the last second rather than make a mistake. Reducing the number of collisions on the road has to be the number one priority, and knowledge-induced drivers will better be able to handle situations like road rage or reduced visibility because of the weather. While many teenagers choose to have their parents teach them for a plethora of reasons, if money isn’t a concern, attending classes is more beneficial because there is a lot more information that a professional instructor can teach you than an adult at home.

There are also many additional ways to reduce car related deaths aside from driver education that can truly be very useful. Several driving laws that are in place today could easily have stricter boundaries. Punishments for texting, driving, and speeding while driving are not nearly as efficient as they can be, and often do not prevent drivers from reverting back to their old habits. Strengthening those laws and extending jail time for even first time offenders would hopefully put a new perspective into the offenders head. An increase in police officers would also do the trick, allowing more patrollers to roam the streets and opening up the possibility for more sobriety checkpoints to be set up. A final suggestion I would make would be to continue to improve road infrastructure around the country. I have seen several instances in my lifetime where a driver hits another due to poor lighting on the roads during dark hours, lack of clear signage, and ignorance of pedestrian crossing. Implementing more lights in these areas without a doubt improves the visibility for drivers which leads to fewer accidents. Bigger or better indication of stop and yield signs could be incredibly important as well, because a majority of accidents I have seen were due to a driver missing a sign at a four-way intersection. An alternate solution could be to add more roundabouts, which force drivers to drive in the same direction at a speed lower than the limit on a typical road.

I unfortunately have had a number of experiences with car accidents and unintelligent drivers. My first experience came when I was nine years old. I was in the backseat of my brother’s car who had just turned sixteen a few weeks earlier. While in the left lane, a driver from the right lane quickly attempted to accelerate past us and sharply turn into a parking lot on our left hand side, causing them to ram into the passengers side doors, where I happened to be sitting. Luckily, nobody from either vehicle was seriously injured, but it is clear that the more responsible and safe decision would have been to slow down and merge into the left lane behind us, allowing us to safely make our way past the parking lot. Just a couple years later, my mother’s truck was damaged by a large school bus while I was in the car. The bus took an extremely sharp right turn with very little room, anticipating he would make it, but instead skimmed the entire left side of our car. We weren’t always so fortunate.

My best piece of advice to any driver in order to help them become better would be to stay completely focused on the task at hand and remove any distractions from your reach. As someone who is attached to their phone, I personally found it helpful to put it in a place where I cannot access during my drive. I think this is a strategy that would work with most, if not all people who have phone separation issues. It is the same for any distraction. If you can’t seem to stay focused when your radio is loud, turn the radio off for the duration of the drive, especially in dangerous situations. For me as a driver who has only been on the road for just over a year, I have sometimes struggled to include checking my blindspots whenever necessary into my routine. Because of my mirrors, I often tell myself that I am good to go. Almost every time, I have a safe path to go, but it is known that smaller vehicles and motorcycles often drive in blindspots, so it is important that I continue to address that issue when I am driving. Overall, increased access to and participation in drivers education significantly reduces the number of inexperienced drivers and the risks of death by vehicle.