Change in Driver Education

Chantal Hernandez

28 October 2020

Driver Education Initiative Award: In the Driver’s Seat

Having the privilege to be able to drive and hold the responsibility that is driving is a great thing to have as a young adult. Even as you grow into adulthood driving is still a key factor that plays into your everyday life more and more. But, with that being said, what comes with the prerogative of driving is having to be far more responsible in the choices you make. In 2019, an estimated 39 thousand car-related deaths occurred in the United States. Precautions need to be made to ensure that we prevent more lives from being lost. The urgency of this is exponential, and we must guarantee that the importance of driver education is improved and a plan of action is instituted to reduce driver-related deaths.

To begin, there is a sizable weight of the importance that there is to give proper education to new drivers; our youth. There are thousands of young adults in America who aren’t even educated on how a motor vehicle properly works. Evidence being myself, who wasn’t aware that car’s moved on their own if the brake isn’t behind pushed. If basic information such as that wasn’t clear; who’s there to say that more complex and important anecdotes aren’t being passed by. Not enough of our youth is properly educated on the basics of driver education, let alone information that could prevent deaths as a result of driving. In testing young drivers, the AAA foundation stated on their test scores that, “..the average scores indicate that both groups of students had relatively low..” Our first plan of action should begin there-at the start. Provided that many drivers were taught these things in their adolescence deaths as a result of driving could be significantly lower. Change starts now with us.

At present, proposals for steps to reduce the abundant amount of driving-related deaths in our nation would ideally begin with what we teach driver students to begin with. But what next? What else can we do? We must take into account who is the demographic that is skyrocketing the deaths that are occurring as a result of driving. Statistics show that, “..drivers ages 16-17 continue to have the highest rates of crash involvement.” Given that we are aware that the younger drivers have a higher tendency to get into accidents it pushes the point to educate our youth more in driver safety. But, we must also take into account that although teenagers may be more likely to get into a crash, they aren’t the demographic at the highest driver deaths. Drivers ages 80 and older are at the highest risk of crash involvement that results in death. So, as controversial as it may be, if you’re too old to work a minimum wage job, you are too old to be handling a vehicle that could end another human being’s life. The next step of reducing the number of deaths related to driving is assuring that the current drivers are still capable of driving. At that age you’re developing arthritis, your reflexes slow down, and your vision decreases largely. Allow senior citizens to retake their driver test if they truly wish to drive freely that passionately, but if not then for the safety of everyone else their capabilities have to be questioned. Assuring that drivers can still drive is an essential key of improving the safety of our streets and our citizens.

Driving is seen as a right of passage to many in the world and is usually taken lightly by most. But driving if not taken seriously could put thousands of lives at risk, and it’s been shown in statistics the consequences of driving irresponsibly. Change starts in giving new driving students the proper education and precautions to tend to while on the road. This can ease any confusion that they may have in beginning this foreign activity for one of the first few times. Our focus should be directed at the two opposite ends of the spectrum of age. Assuring that teenagers are educated, and assuring that the elderly are still capable of the responsibility that comes with manufacturing a vehicle. If we pay more mind to this then I’m positive that we’d see a decrease in accidents resulting in death by driving. This isn’t an issue that we can push to the back of our minds, people are dying now. People need to be saved now. So what will you do?