Eyes Up.

The importance of driver education can mean the difference in living to see the next day—or not, whether it be your life or a stranger’s. Knowing how to navigate effectively and minimize damage in high-stakes situations is essential. Furthermore, safely operating motor vehicles is the ultimate principle. Unfortunately, not everyone who drives comprehends the lives at stake when safety gets disregarded. There are many steps to take to ensure the safety of everyone on the road, including enrolling in and taking driver’s education lessons seriously, removing distractions, and being in tune with your health.

As a teenager, don’t take your driver’s education lessons lightly. Find time to study on your own, even if only for an extra fifteen minutes. When I first began the classroom instruction of driver’s education, I found most of the information taught was on topics I already knew. Boredom ensued when I understood most of the information before enrollment. Despite this, I absorbed as much material as I could. Driving safety was no joke to me—then and now. The material I learned proved essential in creating the driver I am today. This experience taught me an important lesson on not to dismiss things easily.

Not only do teenagers have to be mindful and understand the importance of driver education, but parents also play a vital role. Parents and guardians should not sit back and cast the task of enrolling their child in driver education off to the side. I have seen it too many times where I currently live. Kids would tell me their parents had not signed them up, despite the child being eligible. Why is this important? Think about it this way. Your child will drive eventually, especially if they live in a city where cars are the only viable means of transportation. In Wisconsin, where I am writing from, anyone at or over eighteen years of age is not obligated to take the practical exam. All that is required is a basic knowledge of signs, a vision test, and residency documents.

This is concerning for a few reasons. The first reason is that only so much is learned from readings. Getting behind the wheel and operating a vehicle cautiously requires much more than understanding road signs and 20/20 vision. You learn to anticipate drivers’ movements, maintain speed limits, apply the classroom teachings about emergency vehicles in real life, park in various ways, and much more. These skills can be understood when read from a book or heard, but using those techniques may not come instinctively, unless taught by an instructor. When you deprive your child of that practical lesson time for whatever reason, you could inadvertently contribute to the hundreds of inexperienced drivers on the road every day. Any driver can be involved in an accident, but the best way to decrease that risk is to ensure your child is well-educated. This may also be a valuable opportunity to reevaluate potentially unsafe personal driving habits.

While neither of my parents are bad drivers, I have seen them make moves on the road that I would never make for fear of risking my, my passengers, or other’s safety. For example, my mom had driven my boyfriend and me to spend the day skiing. We planned on being there all day, as the drive up there would take a significant chunk of time. The roads were not optimal for most of the drive, meaning even more foresight and level-headedness was necessary. When it came time to head back, we were exhausted after a full day of skiing our legs off. The only thing left to tackle was the two hours of driving. Considering we don’t frequent this skiing lodge, my mom required Google Maps to direct us back home. She did not set up the Google Maps directions before she began to drive and attempted to type in our home address while keeping the vehicle safe on iced-over roads. I immediately noticed this and offered my aid in typing in our address so her focus could remain entirely on the road and its icy conditions. She refused, combatting my offer with the excuse of, “It’s fine, I can do it.” After much insisting, she finally gave in to my request, though I failed to understand why that was such a hard thing to do. While she may have been able to do it on her own, I saw no harm in having someone else type in information to ensure the driver’s attention was on the road. In any circumstance, watchful eyes are the first step towards adequate decisions—not fleeting glances.

Despite continuous efforts to be safe on the road, I experienced my first accident in the fall of 2023. I recall being very excited on my way home from school one day, knowing I had a few hours to relax. A lazy afternoon of reading was ahead of me after a busy week of tackling assignments from my college courses. As usual, I entered the roundabout when it was clear of traffic, due to go straight through to the second exit. Just as I was about to exit, a grating crash of metal on metal rang through my ears. Instinctually, my foot slammed on the brake as I saw my car getting pushed into the road sign to my left. For a second, I heard only the pounding of my heart thumping in my eardrums and the faint sound of a song on my playlist, dispersing its tune into the anxiety-ridden air. Thankfully, I was okay. No physical injuries on either end. Exhaling, I allowed my heightened nerves to exit my body with the certainty that I was unscathed and put my hazards on. A glance to my right revealed a silver SUV pressed against my passenger-side door and an older woman—head in her hands. Before I called the police, an officer on her routine route miraculously arrived just one minute after the crash occurred. Once all was set and done, the other woman’s insurance took total liability. She failed to yield to my car, which was already in the roundabout when she entered. Luckily, while we were questioned, the lady accepted full responsibility, claiming she was distracted due to tiredness. If only her eyes were awake. It wasn’t until then that I truly understood why you should pull over and rest if you feel unfit to drive at a safe standard.

One daily step I take is to check my mental and physical ability to drive safely. If the answer is no, it is because of illness or inability to get proper sleep the night before. Additionally, on school nights or nights preceding an early morning commitment, I am home by 10:00 p.m. This way, I can get to sleep by 11:00 p.m., ensuring roughly 7-8 hours of sleep. After much trial and error regarding sleep, this is the amount that I find I can perform at my best the following day. Being in tune with your well-being and personal needs to ensure a daily aptitude for safety is a crucial aspect of safe driving that should register as important to everyone.

Another important thing I can continue to do is spread the importance of driver’s education through conversation. If the topic of driving arises, I can mention the importance of education and keeping yourself and others safe. This is especially important for teenagers and young adults who are still beginning to drive—myself included. Sometimes, hearing the same information repeated by authority can get boring. When someone of your general age group says something, it may have a higher likelihood of sticking.

Ultimately, there are many ways to showcase the importance of driver education, especially when the lack of it can result in death. Statistics everywhere prove that change needs to happen. Now. Enrolling in and taking driver education courses, minimizing and recognizing distractions, and knowing personal health needs are all ways to upgrade driving safety. Frankly, you never know when these skills might be the reason you make it to your destination–wherever that may be.