Better Safe Than Sorry

In the movies, teens are always ecstatic to start driving. They take every opportunity they can get to hit the road. They even steal their parents’ cars and go out by themselves. That wasn’t true for me.

My first few driving sessions were on my property, around the circular gravel driveway. Then I graduated to an empty parking lot. I remember feeling like I was zooming around that parking lot when my dad said, “Good job, now try to get up to twenty miles per hour.” It’s hard to believe now that I ever had a hard time getting up to twenty.

After a few more trips and several mental breakdowns, I got out of the parking lot. I went to exotic places like the gas station and the grocery store. Living in a small town in Oregon, there weren’t many fun places to go. I lacked motivation, and I stopped making much progress on my driving. Luckily, my parents signed me up to take a driver education class. They did it for the car insurance benefits, but the class left me with more benefits than I expected. By the end of the driver education course, I was equipped with confidence, experience, defensive driving techniques, and vehicle and road safety knowledge.

Those skills and confidence came in handy right away. I had my license for less than a year before we moved from Oregon to Missouri, and I had to help drive. My family had one less car than people, so only one of us could take a break at a time. It also happened that the week we moved, there was heavy snowfall and rain all across the western part of the country. It was a challenging drive, but we all made it safely to our new home. I don’t think I could’ve done it if it hadn’t been for my driver education class.

A lot of us go through life realizing that serious and fatal car accidents occur, but without ever seeing one up close. I’d seen a car on fire by the side of the road, but no one was in it. I’d seen fender benders and near misses. But a few weeks ago, I was riding home with my parents in the dark. We came up to a small traffic jam and realized there had just been an accident a few cars ahead, at the crosswalk. A police car zipped around us, and then an ambulance. As we turned down a side road to get out of the way, we saw someone lying in the crosswalk. I didn’t see any blood, but the image stuck with me. I checked the local news every day, hoping to find out that the man was okay. Sadly, after a few days, the news came out that he died in the hospital from his injuries.

It’s possible that the pedestrian walked out into traffic when he shouldn’t have, and that the driver that hit him just couldn’t stop in time. But it’s also likely that the driver didn’t have their full attention on the road. Maybe they were distracted by the radio, or a conversation. Maybe they were tired and started to doze off. Maybe they didn’t see the pedestrian until it was too late, due to faulty headlights. It’s easy to forget the consequences that any little distraction or mistake while driving can cause. It’s much better to drive cautiously than to live with the guilt of hurting someone.

I’m very lucky to be in a family of responsible drivers. However, I had one experience riding with a reckless driver that I’ll never forget. At a youth group activity, I accidentally got in the wrong car, thinking an adult I knew and trusted was driving. But then a teenager I barely knew took the wheel. His girlfriend draped herself across the passenger seat and laid her head in his lap as he drove. He even got in a race through town with one of the other teens from the youth group. We were lucky that no one got hurt, but I’ve never been more relieved to get out of a car than I was that day.

Driver education helps prevent driving related deaths in a variety of ways. It teaches responsibility and highlights the consequences of unsafe driving. It teaches drivers to always look out for pedestrians and bicyclists. It also equips drivers with defensive techniques and safety mindsets so that they can protect themselves as well as others.

There are many practical ways to reduce the number of driving related deaths. Driver education class is just one of them. Not drinking and driving, not doing drugs, and not driving drowsy are some others. Knowing your limits, as far as what and who will distract you, is also important.

I have always been committed to being a safe driver, so much so that the responsibility of learning to drive terrified me at first. And now that I’m much more experienced, I’m still committed to obeying speed limits, staying focused and alert, and going at a safe speed in poor visibility conditions. I will never drink and drive, and I will never do anything to put other people on the road, or others in the car with me, in danger. Because when it comes to driving, you’re better safe than sorry.