In the Driver’s Seat: The Importance of Drivers ed

In
the Driver’s Seat: The Importance of Drivers ed

By
Patrick Daigle

I
had done it. I had passed the test, took the picture, and walked out
of the building with a brand new learner’s permit. My
fifteen-year-old self begged my dad to let me drive home, but he said
no. Looking back, I’m grateful he did because back then, I had no
idea what I was doing. I didn’t learn that the hard way, but I came
close. After two terrifying trips behind the wheel, including a close
call, I refused to continue driving. Several months later, my parents
enrolled me in a two-week Drivers Ed course for the summer. By the
end of it, I was confidently driving down the interstate and ready to
take on any road. I couldn’t have been more wrong. After several more
months without driving, everything I had learned went out the window,
and I was back to worrying that I was moments away from causing a
wreck.

It
wasn’t until this past summer, nearly eighteen months after receiving
my permit, that I finally got over my fears and earned my driver’s
license. Now, I’m driving nearly every day to class and work. Many
other teenagers like me, though, don’t have that much time to learn
how to drive. They also don’t have much time to learn how dangerous
reckless driving is. Decreasing the number of deaths related to
distracted driving starts with the people who are just learning how
to drive. Many of them are high school students, and having a class
on learning how to drive is already in place, which is a fantastic
step. However, such a class needs three conditions: an educator
dedicated to teaching safe driving, a prolonged process to help
implement safe habits, and a desire from the students to want to
drive safely. With all three items in place, new drivers can
understand the risks of distracted driving and take measures to
prevent them. Otherwise, they will not take driving seriously,
abandon safe habits, and risk the lives of themselves and the drivers
around them.

Of
course, even with effective drivers ed, there may be those we
know who still don’t drive safely. It then becomes our responsibility
to become teachers and alert them to their reckless driving. If we
remain silent and allow them to continue driving recklessly, we are
also to blame for the wrecks they cause. Helping others drive safely
is not as hard as it sounds like, though. When they are driving, we
can take away their cell phones or refuse to ride with them if they
won’t buckle up. When we are driving, we can make sure that all
passengers are buckled and that our cell phones are silenced.

If
we take these measures, we can make the road a safer place. Each
death caused by distracted driving is a preventable tragedy. The
responsibility of stopping these wrecks lies in all of us. If we take
the initiative and help those around us drive safely, we can end
distracted driving.