In the Driver’s Seat

Driver Education Initiative Award – Annual Scholarship Opportunity

“In the Driver’s Seat”

Alexis Jodon

I am lucky to have never be in the passenger seat of a car with a new, teenage driver until my friends and I were learning how to drive. Until I started driving, I was oblivious to the challenging nature driving presented. I also thank God that I have never been in a car accident, but just like everyone else, I have seen vehicles on that side of the road that have been.

Experienced drivers make drinking their morning coffee, paying attention to google maps, changing the radio station, carrying on conversations, and driving look easy!

It was my parents who introduced me to the rules of driving, but as experienced drivers, a lot of things are done instinctively, so they were unaware to the lack of valuable information they were not communicating during their instruction. I later learned this valuable information from a trained driving instructor. I was unable to take the driving class at our high school due to the number of students that had signed up. I instead had private lessons with a driving instructor through a local company. This was the most valuable part of my learning, as they were detailed oriented in every aspect. The driving instruction classes, and hands on instruction, should remain a requirement prior to submitting for a driver’s license.

Some steps that should be taken to reduce the number of car accidents would be to have some important, but uncommon occurrences become a part of the drivers license test for new drivers. These would include driving through constructions zones so that drivers become familiar with driving in close quarters to walls, cones and construction workers as well as maintaining the posted, slower, speed limits. I would also suggest incorporating the practice of being pulled over by a police officer so that safe practices such as turning on the 4 ways, pulling over in a safe location and knowing what to expect so as to reduce the heightened feeling of being frightened by the situation.

It should also be required to talk about the driving death statistics as a part of the information shared during class instruction. I think it would also be helpful to know what had led to the highest amount of deaths so that new students have a heightened awareness around these issues and hopefully prevent these type of tragedies.

For the sake of everyone in the car, as well as other people driving around us, I am now not afraid to provide feedback to anyone I am riding with. I think its important, and our duty, to provide constructive feedback to anyone, even experienced drivers. Anyone has the capability to fall into bad habits, but they may not be consciously aware that they are doing it and that it could lead to a tragic accident. That is where other people in the car can assist. The life of everyone else on the road around them is at stake every time they fall into the bad habit, or do not follow the rules. A kind reminder is all it may take to save a life.