Driver’s Education is Power

Everywhere we go we’re told that “knowledge is power” and that with enough of it, we can change the world. But what does it mean to change the world? Well, it means to make a difference. Change is always happening around, and it can either be for the better or for the worse depending on what one person chooses to do. You can make a change for the better, by learning how to drive safely.

34,000. That is the number of people in a year who die as a result of a motor accident involving a car. While we cannot say for certain that they died because of a lack of education, these deaths happened because of mistakes and poor circumstances. What is the solution? How do we reduce these deaths? Knowledge. An increase in Driver education will promote safety, comfort, and security on the road because drivers will know what to do in mundane or dangerous situations.

In order to educated you must undergo a class. Thankfully, one of the requirements to getting a license is completing Driver’s Ed, but even this is not enough. If we really want to reduce deaths then we need a refresher’s course, or at least reminders, to ensure that this information sticks with people and doesn’t just fade away over time. In fact, by adding refresher courses we can keep those drivers who completely disregard the rules in check. Another thing that can be done is promote safe behaviors in our communities, behaviors like: buckling up your seatbelt, always checking your blind spots, making a complete stop at a stoplight, and going the speed limit. This way, drivers know the rules.

In high school especially, student drivers do not always practice the rules of the road, and are much more prone to ending up in a car accident. One personal example that I can draw upon is a friend that we will call Roxie. Roxie was only a year above me and was a senior when I was a junior, but she had already been in about seven different accidents, basically getting into one every other month. Thankfully for her, she was never severely injured as these were minor accidents, but it was still expensive and risky behavior. It only takes one bad accident to end a life, you cannot count on being lucky.

There are many things you can do to become a better and safer driver. First of all, make sure that you know all of the rules of the road. There is no shame in studying, and making sure that all of the information that you need is still fresh in your mind. Second, do not take your skills for granted, even a seasoned driver can forget simple things. Finally, while we cannot ensure that everyone on the road is driving safely, we can encourage our loved ones to start hitting the books and become safer drivers so that together we can make the roads a safer place to drive.