Name: Ayanna Thompson
From: Gastonia, NC
Votes: 0
Better
Drivers of Tomorrow
Nowadays
having your license and car are basically the equivalent of teenage
freedom. If you have a car you can take your friends places, take
late night food runs, and not have to depend on the big yellow bus to
get you to and from school. More and more young drivers are learning
their way around the roads everyday. Truly though, are young adults
handling the transition of depending on other drivers to being
self-sufficient and this big responsibility of driving safely? Are we
being taught the proper skills to not just survive on the road, but
be able to live through life and even teach others the rules of the
road? I believe wrecks are inevitable as accidents happen. However,
there are so many that could have been avoided if that young driver
got the proper education needed. Drivers Ed should be a
requirement to graduate, just as Math III or P.E. is.
I
didn’t know Drivers Ed even existed until I got to my sophomore
year of high school. I always had this idea that you just go to the
DMV by the time you turn 18, take the test, get your license, and
you’re a driver. The simple fact alone that I didn’t know
Drivers Ed existed is a problem in itself and it tells me that
teenagers are exposed to the road sometimes not really knowing what
they’re doing. It confuses me because you have all these classes
you have to take before you graduate, but what about learning about
credit, how to write a check, how to make investments, and most
importantly how to drive. Taking Drivers Ed should not be a choice
if it means having more experienced and confident young drivers on
the road. It should be a requirement to take three Drivers Ed
classes, each one diving deeper into the knowledge of what it takes
to be an excellent driver. You take those three classes your
freshman, sophomore, and junior year and you’ll have your license
by senior year. The classes would consist of learning the basics,
experience on the road, how to handle unsafe situations, and any
other requirements needed to navigate through the roads.
Driving
is such a huge responsibility and it takes a lot of courage to get on
the road today. We spend more time learning how to defensive drive
(as my mom says) and what to do in times of stress on the road so
many accidents would be avoided. We get practice, participation, and
experience in for three years and our abilities would never have to
be questioned, feeling as courageous as everyone else on the road.
Teens need more experience and that’s just the bottom line of less
accidents and more safety.
