In the Drivers Seat.

Kian Rennie

30 November 2020

In the Driver’s Seat

Worldwide about 1.25 million people die from automobile crashes yearly. I believe that after getting a license it should be required to take 1 refresher course of drivers ed. Driver’s ed is the best way to reduce automobile-related deaths. It can remind us how to reduce distracted driving. A refresher course could help us relearn some forgotten rules. If done right it can also make sure we know the importance of safe driving.

The number 1 leading cause of car accidents is distracted driving. Most people think of distracted driving as just texting or not looking at the road. Distracted driving can be anything from spacing out at the wheel to eating food. Either way, if it’s the leading cause of accidents people obviously need to be more aware of the topic. Drivers ed teaches how to reduce it and raises awareness for it. Drivers ed will make sure you know the effect of distracted driving. It shows how putting your phone in the glove compartment is such a huge help, or pulling off to the side of the road to take a nap or eat some food can reduce so many deaths.

Looking around today you can see the blatant disregard for many safety rules and regulations. A prime example of this would be the turning signal. So many people today completely dismiss any notion of using the turning signal and even when they do use it it’s way too late. A refresher driver’s ed course could help remind people of these rules. Preventing people from cutting off others. It can also help remind people of other safe driving techniques like checking the blind spot. Surprisingly a lot of people forget about this simple thing. I have not only seen my own parents forget to check it but have been on the receiving end of someone’s simple mistake. There was no accident, they just tried to merge lanes while I was there. I simply stepped on the brakes before they could run into me and before they could push me onto the sidewalk. Still, a refresher course will help simple mistakes like this a thing of the past greatly reducing automobile deaths.

The driver’s ed course can make those lessons really stick if they are effective. The way that my driver ed course did it was by showing us pictures of accidents. It made us realize just how real these car accidents were and just how dangerous they could be. These pictures really made me take into consideration what driving safely really means. When we drive recklessly we’re not only putting ourselves at risk but everyone else around us as well. To cause an accident or to disregard safe driving is to cause harm not only to the people near you but their families and friends. Being able to enforce the ideas that a driver’s actions can impact so many people is crucial to reducing automobile deaths.