The Need For Clearer Drivers Education

In my life, the importance of driver’s education is very prevalent. The importance of driver’s education is steadily showing how it is becoming more significant in today’s world as the deaths due to incompetent drivers who are on the road. My father is a Springdale Police Officer, and as someone who enforces the rules of the road, he ensures that I know the rules to keep me safe while driving.

The first rule that he made sure that I knew, was to stay attentive at the road. One of the leading causes of death on the road comes from distracted drivers. By trying to encourage others to stay focused at the wheel, the Drivers Education system should explain how dangerous it is to have a distracted driver at the wheel. By being distracted, the person driving the car is more likely to not see brake lights or other indications around them on the road, putting both the driver and others around them in serious danger. One example of this was when I had forgotten my lunch on a rushed morning on the way to school. My brother and I were driving my mom’s car due to mine having an engine problem, and my Bluetooth was not set up correctly yet.

I wanted to text my mom that I had forgotten my lunch, but my brother had fallen back asleep in the passenger seat. I didn’t want to wake him up, and instead I thought that the best way to handle the situation was to text my mom myself. I was stuck in traffic, so even though I was behind the wheel, I believed that it was okay for me to text on my phone, feeling like I could still pay attention enough that it would be fine. Because I was distracted by my phone and texting my mother, I almost crashed into the car in front of me when I didn’t see them stop for a red light. The fear that I had in that moment, and what the implications might have meant if I hadn’t slammed on the brakes would have been catastrophic. I put myself, my brother and the people in the car in front of me, just because I didn’t want to wait until I got to school to tell my mom and find a way that I could get my lunch, and after the incident I thought about if that was a good enough reason to possibly hurt the people around me. I decided it wasn’t, and I now never use my phone in the car, only to pair my music that I control through my steering wheel.

Helping to make others understand the dangers of driving behind the wheel while distracted. Another way that people are not informed of as they are driving, is overly aggressive drivers on the road. This is taught as an acceptable, while frowned upon practice, is not considered illegal. Because of these aggressive choices that are being made, the driver is not always acting in ways that other drivers expect, leaving room for injury to strike.

One of my friends often chooses to drive with over-aggressive actions, and I do not like driving with them. I do not feel safe in their car due to the fact that they speed between cars and through yellow lights. They were not properly educated through the driver’s instructions that the way in which they drive is dangerous, they just believe that everyone else is driving very slowly and too carefully. This mindset is very dangerous when being on the road because it makes others driving unsure about how they should act when driving around the dangerous drivers.

These two incidents that are common on the road would not be so dangerous if the drivers were taught how to handle the situations properly. The opportunity to safely drive on the road should be given to all, without having to worry that an unsafe driver will crash into them. A proper education for drivers will fight against the dangers that are rising with the new, distracted drivers. My father tries to continue to teach the people he stops, and teach my brother and me when he can, and while making it not fun to drive with him, it does make the two of us safer drivers. When I finally grow out of my family, I will be confident enough to be a safe and make smart decisions while I drive, and it will make a safer road for everyone on it.