Drivers ed, What are we doing wrong?

Jack Corgiat

February 25, 2020

In
our society, driving is something we expect; no matter what It takes,
we expect to be driving at 16 years old. What some people fail to
understand is that driving is something we must work for. Driving is
not simply given, it’s earned. Implemented correctly, driver
education could play a major role in reducing the number of deaths on
our roads. Many people look at drivers ed as merely an
instruction manual for driving, go through what all the sings mean,
what to do when an emergency vehicle comes up behind them, and so on;
and when the 1 or 2 months of classes is over, and they pass the
tests, they are rewarded with a license. However, this is a perfect
scenario, the driver of the vehicle knows that they are being closely
studied by their instructor the entire time they are in the car. In
response to this, the driver seems to do everything exactly by the
book, I know that during my drivers test I was laser focused on the
road and didn’t let anything distract me. The problem is this is a
totally unrealistic scenario. Distractions are everywhere when we are
on the road, and it feels easy to pick up the phone and change the
song just because nobody is watching. However, this simple act can be
deadly. Even though we are educated, why do we still make these
mistakes, and what can be done about it? Our drivers ed system
heavily pushes to prevent distracted driving. Although a good
starting point, I think it’s thought improperly; Yeah we’ve all
watched the videos in drivers ed about a driver that died, and had
the first responders come in to tell their stories about a deadly
crash, but that doesn’t sink in. Reflecting on those videos, and
lectures; they feel insignificant when put against the real deal.
Something that stands out in my head as a “wakeup call” for me,
was when I was in the car with my sister and we got rear ended at a
stop sign by a distracted driver. This made me realize that if we
were on a different road, or the driver was going faster; this could
have been a lot worse. After re-watching a few stories about a driver
who has died in a crash, the phrase “It couldn’t happen to me”
seem to arise again and again. Perspective is everything, what if we
not only told drivers that they might get in an accident, but also
simulated an accident where they are the driver. Drivers as a whole
need to know what It feels like to be in an accident. The people who
have died in accidents, may have never had that wakeup call to show
that drivers ed really does matter. I think if a simulated
accident was part of drivers ed, drivers would see it’s
importance; and In return we may see a decrease in driver deaths.