Get Smarter

Michael
Aaron Maxey

DmvEdu.org

2020
Drivers ed Essay Contest

31
March 2020

Get
Smarter

According
to research, road injuries are the 8^th
most common cause of death globally. Additionally, teenagers (ages
15-20) is the age group that makes up the greatest percentage of auto
accidents along with the fact that the leading cause of death for
those teens is auto injuries. It seems completely apparent that the
current drivers ed system is not doing a good enough job;
there needs to be a reform in the current system in place.

A
few months ago-July 5^th
of
2019, to be exact- I had been seriously injured in an automobile
accident. While crossing tx-55 during a camping trip, I was hit head
on by a van going 55 miles per hour because of a miscommunication of
one of the drivers. After waking up dazed (I have no memory of the
accident due to head injury), I learned that because of the accident,
I received a broken clavicle, two broken bones in my wrist, numerous
skull fractures, a severely torn ear, and a traumatic brain injury. I
am very fortunate to have survived that event, leaving the hospital
after only 1 week and 3 surgeries, fully recovering in around 2
months.

Knowing
what it feels like to be caught in a devastating auto accident, I
know that there should be a great amount of effort to prevent such
events from occurring, which the drivers ed implemented today
does not do a well enough job of preventing. The first step in
providing safer streets at the educational level- providing more in
depth instruction for driving. This includes making in person
drivers ed mandatory, a more rigorous curriculum provided
from the driving instructors, and not allowing the option for only
parental instruction.

In
the drivers ed stage of learning, learning should be more
engaged and hands on. The instructors should make sure that everyone
has the information that they need down, which includes issuing
tests, assignments, activities, and other things that will reinforce
a driver’s competence. During in car instruction, the instructor
should cover good observational habits besides consistently checking
mirrors. Knowing what’s going on around on all sides of the care is
very important and is not stressed enough in instruction. Many auto
accidents are caused by unawareness of one’s surroundings. Also
parental instruction can be harmful in that bad drivers and bad
teachers can teach bad habits to young drivers that can result in
dreadful consequences.

The
second step in securing the road is a more rigorous driving test. The
way it is set up now, anyone who can reach the peddle can pass the
test. This presents a danger from people who are not completely
qualified to drive safely on the road. Raising the passing score of
the driving test to and 85 or even an 80 will do a good job of
weeding out potentially dangerous drivers. Also, a change in the
scoring format would also do well to increase the safety of the
roads. Instead of a concrete points system, examiners should be
trained to be able to distinguish good drivers from bad drivers
almost instantly and have a black and white pass of fail system.

The
last step and arguably the most important step in making the streets
a safer place is through individual action. Just by being more
cautious and aware of the surroundings, as well as calm and patient
can greatly improve the safety of the drivers around you. Because of
the experiences with my accident, I wish to be the safest driver I
can possibly be as to prevent any potential accidents, so I will make
sure to do all these things on every drive. The road can be a
dangerous and even deadly place to be in any mode of transportation
due to bad driving so it is very important to practice good habits
for the safety of everyone around.