Driver’s Education Saves Lives

34,000 deaths. Annually, in America, thirty-four thousand people pass away due to driving incidents. Factors that result in car crashes, especially for teenage drivers, include inexperience, night-time driving, speeding, and alcohol or other substance use. Driving school teaches new drivers the importance of road safety, how to pay attention to the road, and the laws enforced to keep drivers and passengers safe in their travels. Some steps can be taken on different levels of authority to prevent car crashes and their fatalities.

Importance of Driver Education

Driver education is crucial to teach new drivers the skills traveling requires for safety and efficiency. Driving school teaches students how crucial it is for drivers to pay attention to the road. In the year 2021, 362,415 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers. There were an additional 3,522 people killed at the hands of distracted drivers. Once driver education gets over the importance of not being distracted while driving, it teaches the importance of road signs and what they mean. Especially for drivers in urban areas, road construction could be a vital part of daily driving practices, so paying extra attention to the possibility of construction workers or vehicles near and on the road is imperative for the safety of everyone involved.

Experience: Something that teenagers and adults who wait to get their license both lack. Driver’s education provides individualized lessons with students to improve their driving abilities with an experienced driver and teacher to cater to the student’s level and needs. After receiving a driver’s license, the first time anyone drives on the highway, in the dark, or in unusual weather should not be alone. Driving in unknown territories or conditions without advice or consolation from an experienced passenger is a surefire way to create danger for the driver.

Steps To Reduce Deaths Related To Driving

Steps taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving can include a requirement to complete driver education, stricter punishments/required remediation for drivers responsible for non-fatal crashes, and raising awareness about local crashes and fatalities that happen, especially in cities/towns that are prone to accidents, but also in high schools where new drivers are constantly emerging.

More and more young adults are waiting to get their driver’s licenses until they are 18 due to many factors, including being nervous about driving, not needing to drive themselves, driving is too costly, they are too busy to get their license, or family members did not help them get their license. Generally, it is easier for young drivers to wait to get their license until they are 18 because it is not a requirement to attend driver’s school. Nearly all of these problems could be solved by reintroducing driver’s education in public schools. While it is understandably not cheap to provide driver training due to the costs of insurance, vehicles, maintenance facilities, and instructors, schools can still achieve this funding. Through taxes of the community, a fee for each student enrolled in the program, and a grant to kickstart the program, schools could certainly reintroduce driver education into their curriculum.

Personal Experiences

On March 7, 2024, Lakewood Local Schools in Hebron, Ohio, received two devastating calls. Two different Lakewood students, one I knew personally, and one I hadn’t known, but knew many mutual friends, were in tragic car accidents. Both crashes were single-car accidents, but one passed away, and one was hospitalized. Megan Hart, 16 years old, was driving home after school and sports practice when her vehicle went off the road and into a ditch, then finally hitting a concrete culvert head-on. She passed away on the scene, and the following few days were an atmosphere of gloom. The other student, I knew personally, had taken many classes together throughout the beginning of high school. Madelyn Tittle, the same night, had crashed her car into a tree on her way to visit a friend. The impact from the car hitting the tree shot her seat back, protecting her from a fatal blow to her whole body. She was put into the hospital for many days. As of when I am writing this, her best friend has let me know that she is doing well and healing on her own, but the accident was still a heartstopper for those who know her.

Steps to Become a Better Driver & Encourage Others to Do The Same

Being a better and safer driver is something that does not stop. When I drive, I make sure to put away my phone, roll down my window if I am listening to music, always pay attention to the other vehicles on the road, and observe pedestrians. Especially after March 7, road safety is a great concern of mine, especially if I have a passenger riding with me. Continuing to practice driving safety and crash prevention is one way to become a better and safer driver, but also knowing where you are driving. Looking up routes and asking questions about directions before even getting in the car is one of the most common safety precautions I take, especially when driving somewhere new. Encouraging others to attend driver’s education, even if they are nervous or want to wait until they are 18 to avoid the cost, is another imperative step anybody can take to help others become safer on the road.

Conclusion

Driver education is an often undermined part of teenagers lives and is not taken as seriously as it should be, considering the amount of young adults who do not go through the process as teens and acquire their license aged 18 or above, and comparing that to the number of fatalities from motor vehicle incidents in America yearly. Including drivers education in public schools, even if it is just a road safety course, and constantly working to improve one’s own driving skills are all important factors to keeping the road a safe place to drive.