Driving is a privilege and not a right

Driving is a huge step in becoming a teenager. Driving is a privilege and not a right. If you are not educated properly, you will be in even more danger of being in a fatal car accident. In order to drive a car legally, you must complete a 40 hour online course, have a valid learner’s permit, and you must also complete a physical driving course at your local DMV. This is what is required, but I feel there is a lot more that needs to be done to ensure people are properly educated on how to be a defensive and aware driver.

Per mile driven, teens ages 16-19 are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal car crash than drivers over 20 years old, especially in their first year behind the wheel. You can only imagine how these odds can be multiplied if not properly educated. The physical course that I had to take to acquire my license was to go only about half a mile with two left turns throughout the test. This is absolutely nothing compared to what is actually going on when behind the wheel on a day to day basis. Driving is very predictable but can also be unpredictable. I feel steps should be taken to ensure that teens are able to react quickly to certain scenarios when behind the wheel. The number one risk factor in teens in their first year being behind the wheel is driving at night and also transporting their friends. To ensure the proper education, I think there should be a test during the darker hours of the day. As for the other factor, new drivers should be required to drive their test with very loud noise and or someone talking. This can give a better judgment on how they can react to these situations.

You can observe people of all ages making irresponsible decisions while being behind the wheel. The number one issue for teens is that they are experiencing many things with social life in high school. Many teens want to always be on their phone while driving. An example can be as simple as changing a song, to driving with their knees while texting. Both of which are a huge problem. You can take the steps as a young driver to understand whatever it is that you want to grab your phone for is not that important. Another step you can take to ensure more safety is wearing your seatbelt properly and making sure your passengers have them on as well, including those in the back seat. The likelihood of a car crash being fatal goes up 80 percent when not wearing a seatbelt. The final step you can take is to understand that there is no such thing as a right of way when driving. Realistically, everyone has free will and you have no clue as a driver what someone around you is about to do. Being aware of surroundings and taking actions slowly will 100 percent reduce the odds you may have a fatal car crash.

Lastly, the importance of driver education is critical. Joshua’s Law course is a very good idea, but poorly made. Many teens, even myself, skip through it and do not actually absorb the information provided. This is why you should be required to have to take in person classes to operate a motor vehicle. The safety of others and yourself is important. It is also very important to note that you should be educated on how to work with others on the road. When a person has their lights off at night, you should signal to them. Another example, is to understand courtesy and to be generous so nobody rushes when trying to get to a certain destination and have an accident. In any other job that you are required to operate a moving asset, such as a forklift, there is a more complicated system to be allowed to use it. So why cut corners with the most dangerous responsibility of almost every American.

In conclusion, driving in our country is very much uneducated. There needs to be many steps taken to capture the attention of many teens so that they can be safe on the road. There is more information that you get educated on after a speeding ticket than getting to actually achieving your driver’s license. That makes absolutely no sense. The saying “it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission” cannot be applied to a human life in danger. Many things can be done to solve this issue, but it takes time and dedicated effort to educate people on a huge responsibility that they, as a citizen, have. There is no reason to go easy on the most dangerous responsibility of nearly every American.