The Positive Impact of Driver’s Education on Road Safety

I started a driver’s education class before even testing for my permit. Our instructor taught us rules of the road to help us pass the required written portion of the driver’s test, and then always gave us examples of why the rules are in place and important, and examples of what has happened in situations where people have not followed those rules, including the death of the driver and innocent additional victims.

Examples of things he showed us included multiple scenes of car crashes all varying in severity. Every crash he showed pertained to the lessons that were talked about that day. On the first day, there were crashes caused by distracted driving. The second class, crashes caused by proper precautions not being used for the conditions of the road. The third was crashes caused by improper driving on the highway. On the fourth day, the instructor changed it up and showed videos of people driving poorly, asking us to point out what they did wrong.

That permit class lasted four weeks—a class each week—with a test at the end of each class. After that class was completed, I was ready to take my permit test.

After successfully earning my driver’s permit, I went back to the same driver’s education company, and took four behind the wheel driving classes.

These classes started out with driving in a parking lot, then driving in neighborhoods and around our town, ending with interstate driving.

The instructors literally counted out loud to stress how long drivers should properly stop at a stop sign. They also covered which lane to properly turn into from a stop light; stopping in the correct place at a crosswalk and for a school bus; and defensive driving, as well as spacing your vehicle far enough from another vehicle, especially on the interstate, to ensure that you have enough reaction time should you need to stop or shift lanes quickly.

Interestingly enough, (we were told that it was addressed) one of my driving instructors was on their phone, looking up music and other things, instead of watching me drive, or watching the road. Maybe I should have taken that as a compliment that the instructor felt so secure with my driving, that they could stop paying attention, but it demonstrated how easy it is – even when your job is to make sure the driver in your car is doing the correct thing – to become distracted, especially by a phone.

Thanks to my driver’s education experience, and the confidence and knowledge it gave me, I drove my mom to the DMV for my driver’s test across town, using the interstate.

Everything they walk students through, step-by-step, during the in-class portion, and the driving portion, is helpful in reducing driving-related deaths. When you understand the consequences of your potential actions, when you know what to watch out for in others, when you know how to address various situations, you become aware of the ability you carry every time you drive to affect someone’s life in a drastic way. Also, the confidence you receive from running through various possibilities in a safe environment is very helpful, because you’re automatically more prepared to deal with something similar should that happen to you while you’re driving on your own.

The classes also helped me recognize when and where there may be a concern on the road that I need to watch out for. For example, there have been many times in my short career of driving where people have cut in front of me, gotten too close to my lane, or not given me enough space on the highway. Because of the classes, I was able to notice that those issues were present and prevent an accident in the safest way.

This past March my mom and I went on my first college visit trip. The furthest city we drove to was 13 hours away from our home, stopping at various schools along the way. I drove for the majority of that trip, round-trip, through small towns; through winding mountains; and on large interstates; in heavy traffic; in traffic jams; in construction zones; and with many quickly changing speed limits along the way. I know that my driver’s education class prepared me to feel confident in taking the driving lead on that trip as well as in making sure all the driving I did that week was done safely.