The Importance of Driver’s training

“In the age of distraction, single tasking is a superpower.” – Greg McKeown. This quote really is powerful as it reminds us that driving isn’t done through the act of engaging in conversations with people in the car but rather focusing solely on yourself to make the best decisions you can make when you are driving. I entered driver’s training back in August 2024 and obtained my level 1 permit after doing the 24-hour class and 6 hours/4 observing of driving with a driving instructor. Ever since I obtained my permit, I have become more aware of my surroundings even when I’m not in a car because I’m always on alert for dangers that might be lurking. This is in far opposition to how I was before I got my permit because I didn’t care about my surroundings because I wasn’t the one that was driving, but getting a driving permit really matured me for the real world because I had to watch what I was doing because someone’s life could be at risk. Drivers’ training matures students as they are faced with the responsibility of operating behind the wheel, making it your fault if something happens, especially if you are the only one behind the wheel and not with a guardian. I think the main concern that teenagers going into driving school must deal with is apathy towards situations. Think about it: if you are a kid and your parents are taking care of you, do you HAVE to pay attention to a lot of things going on in the world? No. But once you move forward in doing something that adults have to do, it pushes you forward to take that initiative of hey, I need to really do something about my maturity, or the parents recognize that which is why they want you to take driving school. Some of the biggest challenges that I face when driving have to do with mental distractions. I worry a lot, and this causes me to think about other things while driving. Another big distraction is listening to music. I love heavy metal and if I get too involved in it, I might not notice the stop sign in front of me which would cause me to get into an accident. In all honesty, you can’t really overcome them as society but us individually can do that by pushing those worrying thoughts to the side and not listening to music in the car. I have been better about this as I’ve stopped listening to music when I am the one driving in the car, and I listen to music when my parents are driving the car. Some people have not done this as when I was driving on the highway, 4-5 teenagers were in a big truck listening to music and they tried to merge over causing them to almost get into an accident, I haven’t personally witnessed an accident, but I have come close to seeing some a few times during my ~1 year experience of driving. There is a rise of students not paying attention while driving because of things such as radios, smartphones, and people talking when they’re driving but I have a few solutions to make sure the number of students being distracted goes down. The first thing I would do is make driving school completely free in school, this would get rid of the excuse of parents of not getting their kid in driving school because it costs money. I think if all schools did this, there would be more clarity in driving as the parents wouldn’t have to teach their children themselves and everyone would be getting the same education for the most part to have everyone on the same page. The second thing I would do is make higher fines and surveillance to monitor distractions in the car. The surveillance may not be totally possible, but the fines would make students more likely not to risk the punishment of spending money that they might have wanted to use for something else that they enjoy. And the last thing that I would do is make incentives if you go completely free of not getting any fines for anything during your time of being a driver in high school. These incentives could be money towards college, money towards life after high school, etc. This would make students want to be on their best behavior to benefit them in the future to promote better habits towards their adulthood. Driving School can mature a student, but it only takes them so far. They can decide if they want to follow the law, so how do we make it more enforceable?