Driver’s Ed Taught Me More Than Just How To Drive

Believe it or not, traffic safety is a regular topic of conversation in my house. My dad works for our county’s traffic department. He is a traffic safety engineer. Specifically, it is his job to respond to traffic safety complaints and traffic accidents and make recommendations for infrastructure improvements that will minimize the potential of future crashes. In that role, he is informed of all the accidents, and outcomes of those accidents, which happen across our county and has to analyze the cause of these accidents, which he will say, more often than not, is human error.  On more than one occasion, he has come home with a story of a person or people my age, who has been in a crash, sometimes fatal, due to cell phone usage, driving under the influence, driving too fast, or not heeding traffic signals or signs. So you can imagine, when I turned 15, and got my driver’s permit, ensuring that I was prepared to be a safe driver was a top priority in my house. And while I was beyond excited to get behind the wheel, as soon as I could, I was also very aware that this privilege also came with a great deal of responsibility. So, I enrolled in Driver’s Education as the first step in preparing me to become a safe driver.

Driver education is extremely important in helping to reduce the number of driving incidents and deaths. In the classroom, you learn road safety rules, statistics and numbers of crashes, injuries, and deaths, and they emphasize how to avoid that through defensive driving, reducing distractions and completely avoiding driving under the influence. In my orientation session at Driver’s Ed, my instructor told a powerful and disturbing story of the loss of his daughter by a drunk driver. He had made it his mission to use his grief to impact the number of deaths related to driving by making as many young drivers as he could become the safest drivers they can be. This story has a significant impact on me, as did the lessons I learned in the classroom and in my weekly drives.

Driver’s Ed was a great way to be introduced to driving, as the instructors are really good at not only teaching you the rules and skills associated with driving, but also psychology. They encourage you to stay calm in stressful situations, manage emotions, avoid distractions, and stay focused.  It was also helpful to observe the real-world situations, without having the added pressure of also driving the car, while being a passenger as my driver’s ed partner drove. The instructor required us to pay attention even when we were not driving. They encouraged me to observe our surroundings and asked me how I would handle certain situations if I were driving. In all my time as a passenger, it suddenly dawned on me how I had never really done that while riding in a car in the past. These driver’s ed experiences gave me the confidence to continue practicing at home with my parents and to go on and get my license and drive independently.

While gaining this hands-on experience and knowledge definitely boosted my confidence as a new driver, confidence that was crucial for making driving decisions and handling challenging driving situations, I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say I haven’t personally experienced a few scary situations since getting my license. I have also had friends and family who have been in accidents and have heard of their crash experiences. So much goes into becoming a safer driver and supporting efforts at reducing the number of traffic related deaths. For my part, I do my best to obey all traffic laws, signals and signs, drive the speed limit, staying alert and minimizing distractions by staying off my phone, keeping the music volume reasonable, and making sure my passengers don’t distract me, and always having a designated driver or calling alternative transportation options when/if necessary. I also act as confidently and thoughtfully as possible in my decisions behind the wheel.

Modeling this safe behavior is the most important thing I can do to help others practice safe behaviors on the road. It is also important that I am a responsible passenger and encourage others to drive responsibly. In summary, the foundation that driver’s ed has given me has helped contribute to what will be a lifetime of safe and responsible driving habits. Road safety is a collective effort, and individual actions can have a significant impact on reducing accidents and saving lives.