Driver’s Education

On the first day of my driver’s education class, the students were shown a video of cars that had been wrecked and mangled beyond recognition. It was a stark and shocking reminder that vehicles can be extremely dangerous if not operated with caution. Many teenagers can’t wait to get their driver’s license and have that first taste of freedom as they venture out into the world without supervision, but we need to make sure that they’re completely ready before being released onto the road so that they don’t become one of the 34,000 automobile deaths per year (Scholarship par. 2). The best way to prepare them is to require a formal driver’s education class and a significant number of hours of driving experience before obtaining a license.

Driver’s education classes are crucial for helping drivers learn how to be safe behind the wheel. Before taking the class, I had no idea how many rules and laws were required to keep traffic flowing smoothly and safely. Without knowing the guidelines that instruct when to stop, turn, yield, or keep on moving, a new driver could soon have a smashed and mangled vehicle of their own. A study conducted by the University of Nebraska found that driver’s education significantly reduced traffic violations and crashes (University par. 1). Those who had not completed a driver’s education course and had instead learned from parents or other sources were 75% more likely to get a ticket and 24% more likely to be involved in a severe accident. This is probably due to the fact that the content taught in driver’s education classes is more comprehensive, making sure all rules of the road are covered. I know that when I took my driver’s education course, as I reviewed with my parents, there were several rules that they didn’t know or had forgotten. A certified instructor remembers.

Where I live, in Michigan, new drivers must complete a driver’s education course and complete fifty hours of driving before obtaining a license, but all states differ in the number of required hours behind the wheel before obtaining a license. More than half do not require a formal driver’s education class (A Fresh par. 4). The NHTSA determined that expanding driver education and integrating it with a graduated license system, which limits driving permissions and increases them incrementally as more experience is gained, would help keep drivers safer. The graduated license system results in more time driving in the presence of adult or parental supervision. This is beneficial both because a teenager will likely be more cautious while being watched and the experienced adult can guide and instruct the teenager as needed. The graduated license system also aims to reduce the dangerous issue of distracted driving, by limiting friends/teenage passengers allowed in the car.

While driver’s ed is our best method for instructing new drivers how to be safe, there is still room for improvement within the courses that are taught. A study by Forbes magazine found that more than half of respondents believe that driver’s ed today is outdated, and 60% believe that the tests are designed for students to pass them, rather than to truly test driving skills (Mohn par. 6-7). The courses need to focus on safety, including defensive driving, and ensure that students learn enough to avoid any problems on the road, rather than simply enough to score a passing grade of 80%. Also, knowing something does not guarantee its practice. Even though we’ve all seen the warnings—don’t text and drive, don’t drink and drive, don’t drive distracted—many of us seem to forget common sense when we hear the alluring buzz of our cell phones as we cruise through the streets. I have driven with many people who have glanced at their phones when they received messages, and I have been lucky that this has not resulted in tragedy, because I know that sometimes it only takes one brief moment of distraction for the worst to happen.

As a nation, we need to find ways to reduce the number of automobile deaths. Smart cars that can alert us, avoid accidents, and even drive for us will likely help with this in the future, but until the technology advances to the stage where we all are driven by guaranteed-safe machines, we need to ensure that all teenagers are required to take driver’s education and complete an adequate number of driving hours before obtaining a driver’s license. Every driver needs to learn the rules of the road, and we all need to follow them, because lives are at stake.

Works Cited

A Fresh Look at the State of Driver Education in America – NHTSA. https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/811615.pdf.

Mohn, Tanya. “Is Driver’s Ed Good Enough? Most Americans Don’t Think So.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 July 2019, https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyamohn/2019/07/11/is-drivers-ed-good-enough-most-americans-dont-think-so/?sh=fcc70613367d.

Scholarship – Dmvedu.org. https://www.dmvedu.org/scholarship/.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln | Web Developer Network. “Study: Driver’s Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets.” Study: Driver’s Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets | News Releases | University of Nebraska-Lincoln, https://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study:+Driver%27s+ed+significantly+reduces+teen+crashes,+tickets.