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“Drivers’ Education: A New Perspective”

Name: Marissa Elizabeth Pittman
From: Memphis , TN
Votes: 0

   I
will be the first to admit that I DREADED driving before attending
Pitner Driving School (PDS). “Marissa,” pleaded my mom, “let’s
go out for a drive.” I replied with an automatic “no.” Plain
and simple, I just was not comfortable or confident in my abilities.
After enrolling in driving school, I have deemed myself an “enforcer”
of safe driving practices. Drivers ed is just the ticket for
teaching new and inexperienced drivers the importance of driver
safety and increasing our driving IQ. Metaphorically speaking,
drivers’ education is like the race suit NASCAR drivers gear up in
before taking on the track. Drivers’ Education is the gear needed
to safely navigate the road. 

 

         One
text or a lane change without signaling could negatively affect the
lives of myself and others. Before Pitner Driving School, I was
ignorant of this, however currently, I embrace safe practices, such
as sharing the road, buckling up passengers, and getting enough
sleep. After chatting with my PDS classmates, I realized that our
collective experience was not different. In fact, it is the norm for
student-drivers to become confident and thrilled about taking on the
road. 

 


         According
to the Center for Disease Control, motor vehicle crashes are the
leading cause of death for American teens. I have no doubt that this
could be prevented if more young people attended driving school. In
previous years, some high schools offered drivers’ education
classes to students for a low or no cost reinstating these programs
will allow more students to be educated drivers. It would also enable
high school students to experience the classroom instruction and
actual street driving time with their instructor.

 

     Since
some families cannot afford driving school tuition, legislated
distracted driving prevention efforts to ban a drivers’ access to
their phones are integral to prevention. In 2015, cell phone-use was
the second largest cause of distracted driving. Most specifically,
fourteen percent of distracted driving related deaths came from cell
phone use. As a result, in July of 2019, Tennessee implemented the
“Hands Free in Tennessee” law. The policy was created to
alleviate technological driving distractions.

 

     Joking
and jesting down the hallways, I hear fellow students bragging about
their failure to obtain a good night’s sleep-as if it is a badge of
honor. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s Drowsy Driving
Report, “sixty percent of people are sleep deprived”. Combining
drowsiness and inexperienced driving can be a fatal mistake.
Additionally, the report found that young drivers are most at risk
for crashes related to drowsiness. After attending PDS, I had a
genuine conversation with my father. He revealed that with my mom and
youngest sister in the car he drove off the road. While my dad was
attempting to provide for our family by transporting my mom and my
sister, that day could have drastically transformed my life.

 

    Although
statistics associated with teenage driving fatalities are morbidly
high; however, with ,pthe help of drivers’ education, safe driving
practices, legislated prevention efforts, and a goodnight’s rest
will shift the paradigm surrounding driving.  Drivers’ education will help young drivers to be on track for safe driving. It
has made a significant impact on my life as I have worked to achieve
this milestone rite of passage.