Importance of Driver’s Education

Importance of Driver’s Education

Driver’s education is a must in today’s society where technology has allowed us to become carefree and let our guard down when we should not. Many people observe their parents drive all throughout their childhood and think that driving is harmless and easy. However, when one becomes of driving age and actually takes the wheel (often without all the technology and safety features of a newer vehicle), they understand how complicated and nerve-wracking it can be. Driver’s education is important in highlighting key aspects of driving that parents often miss. For me, driver’s education emphasized the importance of checking for trains. Before driver’s education, I had no idea how dangerous trains could be because they seemed so slow. However, after being instructed through driver’s education, I now know that they pose a serious threat to the unsuspecting driver.

The most important step in reducing the number of driving related deaths is to drive home the fact that distracted driving kills. It doesn’t matter whether someone is in a busy metropolis or on a country road with nobody around for miles, if they take their eyes off the road for just a second there can be serious and even fatal consequences. Additionally, drivers must be informed of the dangers posed by motorcycles and semis. Motorcycles can sneak up on someone who doesn’t check both ways several times before entering an intersection because of their slim profile. Their lights are often hard to detect in large amounts of traffic at night when the headlights merge together. Furthermore, semi-trucks are not able to stop as quickly as regular cars, so it is dangerous to slam on the brakes in front of one.

A friend of mine was devastated by a collision with a semi-truck. She failed to check properly before entering an intersection and, with her two younger sisters in the car, was hit. While she walked away with minor injuries, one of her younger sisters was careflighted from the scene and later passed away. The driver now has immense guilt for causing the death of her sister because she made one poor decision—a decision that has affected not just family but classmates and the entire school community as well. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to cope with losing a friend and potentially best friend at an elementary-school age.

The best advice to give a new driver is to tell them not to let their guard down. It is ok and encouraged to enjoy driving, but caution should still be exercised no matter how experienced one feels behind the wheel. There is a reason that most accidents happen within 1 mile of the home, and that is because people become careless when driving in familiar territory. Just because one is older and has driven for longer does not mean they can do things they normally wouldn’t do when they were just starting to drive. As I learned in driver’s education, the safest driver is probably the one in the driver’s education car, not the person tailgating them. Driver’s education is critical in reducing the amount of deaths caused by driving as drivers have more and more sources for distraction.