The Importance of Driver Education

What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number of deaths as a result of negligent drivers? Most would agree that the best answer would be that learning how to drive, and drive safely, would decrease the amount of car accidents per year. But what does that mean? What specifically can negligent drivers change in their behaviors? According to “The Top 25 Causes of Car Accidents in the US”. The top 4 on Salmon’s list are: distracted driving, speeding, drunk driving, and driving too fast in the rain. Reducing any of these risky driving behaviors can reduce the number of deaths related to driving.

I’ve personally been an offender of the first example of irresponsible driving. I’ve been distracted on the road before, whether it be from some beautiful scenery, a nice looking car, anything around you in a vehicle could be a distraction. Attending driving classes not only teach you how to drive a vehicle safely, it also teaches you things to watch out for as a driver that can cause crashes; distractions being one great example. In a 2015 University of Nebraska study, young drivers who have not completed driver’s education are 75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident and 16 percent more likely to have an accident, the study showed.In each module of a driving school, students will be given small films, or written examples of irresponsible driving and what it can cost you and others that may be affected. This is why it is so important to pay attention in driving school, to internalize the information needed to become a safer driver.

I have seen examples of irresponsible driving before. Once, I was in the car with an old friend of mine, that (surprisingly) did, and does have a license. As we were on the highway, they begin to blair their music aloud. Having music play extremely loud is an example of irresponsible driving, first off so already that’s a bad sign. Then as the music begins picking up in tempo they start picking up speed, until eventually I’m in the passenger side of a vehicle moving at about 110 mile and hour. As stated above Salmon states that speeding is among the many causes of death while driving, as well as “Distracted Driving”. The music had the driver get distracted from driving at the speed limit, which led to speeding. Nobody was hurt in this instance of irresponsible driving, it was nonetheless irresponsible and dangerous.

My final experience of irresponsible driving was with someone who was driving while possibly under the influence, it was a short trip, just a block away from my destination. Everything seemed very smooth and easy until I realized the car had been in the correct lane, but it was slowly swerving from left to right. I wasn’t quite sure if they were drunk until we finally parked the vehicle, but they’d hit the parking curb. These were my biggest examples of irresponsible driving from others. FInally there was myself. As I’ve stated in the paragraph above, I have been distracted on the road. I was on my way to work, and everything was smooth until, I saw this bright yellow 90’s coupe, it’s known as an automotive legend, and is famous in Japan as well as America. But the reason it caught my eye wasn’t the color, but the fact that this car had only been manufactured in Japan, and wasn’t yet legal to even drive in America. Either way, I was distracted and I missed my exit to get to work. Now while this is a pretty tame story, I haven’t even been driving for a full year yet, nonetheless, these are some examples of Irresponsible driving I’ve experienced.

What can one do to become a better driver? First, would be to remove any distractions. Driving while overstimulated is not a safe way to drive, and it’s strictly taught that you must use both hands in driving schools across the country. Two, would be to apply the rules learned in driving school. Both hands on the wheel, defensive driving, learning the traffic light signals, not texting and driving etc.When riding with friends or family who may be tempted to become distracted or drive irresponsibly, I remind them of the importance of reducing these risks while driving and encourage them to drive safely. In general, going to driving school, listening and internalizing the information given will help create a better and overall safer driving experience for everyone.