Tales From Drivers Ed

Tales From Drivers Ed

The first time I stepped out of a driver’s education car, I was left feeling as though I never wanted to sit behind a wheel again. However, it wasn’t because I followed the cliche of first-time drivers being absolutely horrendous, but rather because the words spoken to me by the driving instructor. My driving instructor was fairly warm and comforting for the first 15 minutes before my driver’s education lesson began. The second I stepped foot in the car however, his mood completely changed. He became extremely cold in tone, and his voice deepened dramatically as he made sure to look directly into the eyes of myself and the two other teenagers in the driver’s education car.

“The moment you step into this vehicle and sit behind this very wheel, you are controlling a weapon. You are controlling a weapon that kills more 38,000 people every year, and is the second leading cause of death for American teenagers. The second your hands touch that wheel, you are in control of the lives of everyone in this car. Look at me, then look at everyone else in this car. Do you trust each other with your lives? Driving is no joke. Teenagers are not legally allowed to own weapons, yet the government allows millions of them to operate massive 2-ton steel machines at extremely high speeds. If you haven’t caught on, I’ll say it again, driving is not a joke.”

Needless to say, I and the other two teenagers in that car were stunned into an anxiety-riddled silence. The countless hours we spent in a cold classroom on a Saturday morning to learn traffic law and the dangers of driving before stepping behind the wheel seemed utterly useless now that we were face-to-face with the reality of it all. Thankfully, our instructor morphed right back into his usual cheerful demeanor, and our driving anxieties were soon gone once we realized that we were well prepared for the task of driving. My personal driver’s ed experience was long and gruesome, as my parents insisted that I complete two separate drivers ed courses, just to refine my skills and make sure no gaps were left unfilled. While it was a nuisance to my schedule, I can’t thank them enough for making sure I was adequately prepared for the road. Unfortunately, not all drivers have had such an extensive amount of drivers education. Too many Americans suffer untimely tragedies due to lack of basic retention of drivers education skills. Skills that are as simple as remembering to use a blinker, checking blindspots, and turning off your phone while driving are neglected and made second thought. Simply put, driver’s education drills these seemingly small, but majorly important habits into the minds of new and old drivers alike. Should everyone who takes the road also have taken to a drivers education course, casualties on the road would be massively lower.

Being face to face a car accident is an eye opening experience to the reality that cars are easily masqueraded as weapons. A normal car-trip home from the average school day was turned very abnormal as I sat in the passenger seat with my mother as the green light above flickered on. Seconds later, two cars collided to create massive craters in each other, leaving a metallic mess in the middle of the intersection. It happened suddenly, but the gruesome image was forever cemented in my mind. Such moments serve to remind us of the simplest of steps, such as being alert, aware, and cognizant of the drivers around you to save lives. I still cant help but wonder whether the two cars involved were involved in negligent behavior such as distracted driving or whether intoxication was involved, but it remains firm that the accident was easily preventable.

It is deeply saddening to know how many unnecessary vehicular related fatalities happen every year. Yet so long as these preventable outcomes exist, so should education to make sure the preventable is prevented. Broad ranges of ideas — from federally mandated drivers education to small town locally-funded programs– exist to help us conquer the most pressing safety issue facing our youngest Americans. Until this issue is resolved, general kindness and awareness on the road can go a long way in preserving the safety of all drivers.