Be Prepared for the Unexpected

Be Prepared for the Unexpected

Nowadays, students are masters at rerouting information taught in school to short-term memory, while that may be effective for a vocabulary test, in the long run, it is unreliable. Driver Education has the opportunity to advise students on how to really apply what they learn in the classroom to the real world and reduce the number of deaths behind the wheel. Through learning the proper way to signal, park, check mirrors, and keep your eyes on the road these actions put students in drivers-ed miles ahead of their classmates. Getting ahead in school is great, but every driver should be the best they can be, not only for their own safety but for the safety of others. The formal Drivers Education program prepares students for the unexpected by combining auditory and visual classroom work with kinesthetic exercises on the driving course.

Driving related deaths are unprecedented in our country the only way to reduce recklessness behind the wheel is to increase awareness of our actions and how they affect the world around us. Consistently have your seatbelt buckled, never drive under the influence or tired, and always make sure there is a designated driver present. Preparing the driving public will only improve the safety of everyone on the road. Since elementary school, I remember learning never do something to others that you would not want to be done to you and the same phrase can be applied to driving by sharing the road in a responsible and courteous manner.

I was driving my brother home from his baseball game and it was pitch black on a lengthy road back home. With no streetlights and farmland occupying each side, the one other car on the road had just passed me. I turn on the high beams to get a better look at the road and out of nowhere a hog runs out into my lane. I had two options: I could try to swerve out of the way while going 60 mph or I hold the wheel steady, stay in my lane, and apply the brake. I choose option two. The animal hit my truck but thankfully moved farther out of the lane at the time of impact, so only the front left corner of the bumper was damaged. I remember sitting in my Driver’s Education class thinking how unlikely it would be to strike an animal with a car but in fact, that lesson was something invaluable, something my parents never taught me, and something that could have gone horribly wrong if not for the lessons I learned in my high school drivers education class.

Always be ready and acknowledge the responsibility you hold before you get behind the wheel, plan ahead so you are on time without speeding. Put the phone away; anyone who cares about your safety would rather see you arrive safely than have you respond to their text. Never forget to establish a safe following distance for the vehicle in front of you. These steps are imperative, every time you enter a vehicle needs to be with as much care as the time before. By all means, as we get older, we have more experience, but experience does not equate less respect for the rules of the road. The rules we learned while obtaining a permit and then our license last a lifetime.