The Importance of Driver’s Education

Mekiah Rivera

30 November 2020

Driver’s Education Essay

The Importance of Drivers Education

Driver’s Education is essential in the modern-day society we live in today. There is an extreme amount of car-involved deaths and injuries that always seem to go into the thousands. In 2019 alone, over 38,000 people died in car crashes and 4.4 million got injured. This is a serious problem that affects everyone worldwide. Driver’s Education would act as a solution to this problem by enabling people to learn the rules and personal conditions needed when driving.

Driver’s Education would not only teach both old and new generations of drivers various ways to have safer driving practices but also encourage others to participate in the same actions. Many people see Driver’s Ed as redundant or unnecessary without taking into account the current driving situation we have. Many people simply do not know the thousands of deaths and millions of injuries that are happening each and every year, so they don’t really think much of Driver’s Ed. Others just think that Driver’s Ed won’t make a difference at all, which is just an overall wrong statement. In 2018 it was reported that teens ages 15-20 without driver education were responsible for 91% of teen driver crashes. It seems that until an accident happens to either themselves or a loved one, people tend not to care or be very involved.

I have personally been involved in a car accident in Kindergarten. I was walking down the street with my brother when a car came flying down the street. It was a Lincoln Navigator hitting a 5-year-old kid on his last day of school. I was immediately rushed to the hospital, blood gushing out of me, and a fractured hip. This resulted in me missing my graduation, my whole family having the look of me in a hospital bed ingrained in their memories forever, me being unable to walk for months, and a constant fear of cars that never goes away. It’s a sight that no one wants to see. It turns out that the lady who hit me was looking at her phone when she did it.

There are many steps that could and should have been taken to avoid this, along with other accidents. First and foremost, do not text and drive. Do not use your phone at all when driving, as it is a major distraction. There will never be a call or text that is so important that you must look at it while you are driving. If you can’t resist, just pull over and take the call instead of accidentally putting an innocent person’s life in danger. Along with phones, do not have any other type of distraction including changing the radio station, looking at things outside the road, or looking at things inside your car. Another major way to prevent this is not being under any influence. This includes any type of alcohol or drug, as they will majorly affect your ability to drive cautiously. On top of this, being sleepy at the wheel is just as bad as being drunk or high. If you cannot keep your eyes open, do not even attempt to drive. Even simple rules such as making sure everyone has their seatbelt on will drastically decrease the probability of any injuries in car accidents. Finally, you should always be cautious. Whether it be another car not following the rules or a person walking in the middle of the street, no matter how angry it makes you it is always better to remain safe. I remember countless times of people going the wrong direction through one-way streets or speeding through red lights at night. Staying aware of your surroundings will prevent an accident for you and others. Follow and obey all road rules and make sure you stay safe. I was blessed to survive my encounter with a texting driver, but many aren’t as lucky as me. So please, for the sake of others, follow the rules and think of whether you should or shouldn’t be driving.