The Realities of an Uneducated Driver

As I was once the eager sixteen-year-old, I know teenagers are thinking about one thing and one thing only when they receive their license: freedom. What they do not think about is how quickly that freedom can be taken away if they partake in an accident. It is no secret newer drivers cause a majority of the accidents seen each year, and often times it is because of their reckless driving. Whether it be driving too fast for the conditions, rolling through stop signs, weaving in and out of traffic, etc., had the driver at fault recalled their driver’s education, there is a very good chance an accident could be avoided. To answer the question of what the importance of driver’s education is in reducing the number of deaths because of driving, it is that knowledge of driver’s education would result in less accidents, therefore creating a domino effect of less deaths. Step one is to ensure the proper driver’s education course has been completed before even attempting a road test, and step two would then be to ensure each potential new driver has had a certain number of hours behind the wheel with a responsible driver accompanying them before receiving their official state driver’s license. If both steps are followed exactly, a driver would have the amount of education necessary to keep themselves and others safe on the open road. It helps to have supportive and responsible people encouraging the driver to drive safely and remember they hold the lives of others in their hands when they are behind the wheel.

Just six months after receiving my driver’s license, I was in a car accident due to the poor driving of someone behind the wheel of a semi-truck. This driver paid no attention to the cars around them, did not check for any vehicles in their blind spot, and tried to make a wide turn/lane switch without any indication. It is very possible this driver had a driver’s education but failed to utilize the knowledge they had. I was very lucky to have survived such a scary incident; their reckless driving could have not only cost me my life, but their career could have ended in that moment as well. Although I did not cause this accident, I was able to learn from the experience and become more aware of the potential hazards given by the drivers around me. In other words, I do not just focus on what I do to keep myself safe while driving, but also what other drivers do so I can keep everyone safe.

I do not have many opportunities to influence others to become safe drivers, besides yelling at my mom for not using her turn signal on occasion, but I take my twelve-year-old sister out a lot and always remind her of the things I do to keep us safe. She may be years away from even considering driving on her own, but I feel it is never too early to start educating her. It might be noted as well that the more times someone has the opportunity to learn, the more likely they are to retain the information being given. I know I have done good for her, as when I do make a small mistake, she tells me what I did wrong; “You forgot your turn signal!” “The speed limit is definitely 35, I don’t know why you’re going 40.” She may be annoying about it, but she knows how to be safe and that is all I could ever hope for. One day far down the line, I will teach my own children about road safety and driver’s education early on to ensure if there is an accident to be had, my child will never be the one at fault.

Unfortunately, we see more and more people waiting to turn eighteen to get their license so they can avoid driver’s education classes, as those classes can be extremely costly. The cost of those programs is a debate in itself, but that does not change how important it is to invest in education. Causing an accident, big or small, is financially costly too. Making the choice to not spend the money on classes is basically making the choice to spend the money on tickets, court fees, lawyers, etc. Operating a vehicle is a large responsibility, and it only takes a small mistake to create a fatal disaster. Nobody’s life is worth not sitting through a few hours of a “boring” driver’s education class.