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Round 3 – Safety in Education

Name: Brian Walker
From: Marietta, Georgia
Votes: 0

Safety in Education

Brian Walker

11/7/2020

Safety in Education

What is the importance of driver education in reducing the number deaths as a result of driving?

In 2019, an estimate of about 38,800 people lost their lives in a car accident within the US. There are millions of people on the road from a day-to-day basis. With all those people on the road at the same time, how are people supposed to go from point A to point B safely? The US has driving rules put in place to keep everyone safe and keep the roads organized for the safe commute in our everyday life. As to how we learn these rules, Driver’s Ed is the best place for learning them.

Sure, you can learn how to drive without going to the driver’s ed, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be aware of the correct way to drive. One thing Driver’s Education will teach you is the basic laws for driving. From traffic lights and 4-way intersections to the intimidating presence of the freeway, drivers ed will teach the rules that keep everyone safe on the asphalt. Some might say you can learn that stuff from experience, but there are some instances where that might not be the best option. Everyone knows that red means stop and green means go, but what happens at a 3-way intersection with stop signs on every side. There is a car on each side and everyone stops at the same time at their respective stop signs. If you didn’t take driver’s ed, you wouldn’t know that the person to your right always goes first. You and another driver might try to go first and get into a wreck and potentially lose more than just your car. Knowing those small facts before getting behind the wheel could be the difference between life and death sometimes.

Driver’s Education not only tells you the rules of the road, but it also teaches you how to drive through different types of weather and how to navigate through environmental challenges. Someone who has never taken Driver’s Ed might not know what hydroplaning is. Say it’s raining and the road is obviously wet and someone is going 85 mph on a 45-mph road. They drive over a puddle and they find themselves in a situation where they need to stop or they’ll wreck. Driver’s Ed teaches someone what might happen should they drive too fast during a rainstorm. In that person’s case, they would slam on their brakes, but due to hydroplaning, they’ll most likely glide on the road and the car won’t slow down resulting in a bad car accident. Had they taken Driver’s Ed, they would’ve been shown the consequences of driving recklessly during a rainstorm. Then, they would’ve been instructed on how to avoid the situation in the example step by step.

Most Drivers get the general concept of spacing when driving, but despite knowing how to do it, rear ends account for 28% of all traffic accidents. 6% of that 28% is fatal. Taking Driver’s Education could lower that percentage drastically. Driver’s Ed teaches any driver the proper spacing techniques and amount of space required in order to stop in time or avoid an accident caused by another vehicle all together. The basic rule is to give the driver in front of you 3 seconds of space. Without taking Driver’s Ed, one might know what that means and might ignore it. In doing so, when someone in front of them slams on brakes, it could be the last thing the driver behind that person ever sees.

Taking Driver’s Education plays a very important role in reducing deaths by driving. Driver’s Ed teaches a driver what to do in situations that aren’t very common, but still happen. In doing so, it will reduce the collisions that will be fatal. Driver’s Ed also teaches driver’s what to do during different weather conditions. It teaches the driver how to maintain control of the vehicle in situations that may be difficult to do so. These tips can help every driver avoid putting their lives in danger and make it home safely. Lastly, Driver’s Ed teaches the drivers how to maintain spacial awareness around the vehicle in order to manage their vehicle in case of emergency braking or split-second maneuvers. Driver’s Education teaches more than what was mentioned in this essay and each and every piece of information can be the information that keeps drivers alive.