Driver Education: A Necessity for New Drivers

For someone out there, driver education could mean the difference between life and death. Just one wrong turn, just one simple, avoidable mistake, and the course of their life could be derailed forever. Driver education is what teaches new drivers how to avoid those simple but life changing errors. I know other teens who have said that they do not understand why driver education — which I have taken a course of — is necessary. If their parents can teach them, then what is the point of other instruction? But one person cannot teach you everything you need to know, and so many drivers who have taken no driver education courses are left at a disadvantage when it comes to the rules of the road. Surgeons aren’t hired after being taught by one educator, so why should every driver, who holds the lives of all other drivers on the road in their hands, not receive the same extensive instruction?

Taking just one driver education course will help new drivers feel more comfortable on the road and with their own abilities. When there are split second choices to be made, they will be able to confidently make a decision without second guessing themselves. The short period of time between when the problem arises and when the action is decided upon is particularly dangerous. One moment of slight hesitation and it all could be over. Driver education is not the end-all be-all solution to the problems one will face on the road, but it will certainly help in most emergencies. It will also impart on new drivers the importance of sobriety and distraction avoidance when on the road.

There have been many times where I’ve been in a car with someone and I have felt uncomfortable and unsafe. Ever since I was young, I have seen various unnamed family members and parents of friends talk on the phone, take pictures, gesture with their hands while conversing with other passengers, and, worst of all, eat while driving. One moment that comes to mind was when I was eight years old — I felt so unsafe in the car that I took away the food my family member was eating because I felt it impaired their ability to drive. I was scolded heavily for it later for being “rude,” but even then I knew I was actually being safe. I do not regret that moment, even if it did not change their habits in the long run.

If someone ever told me that they felt unsafe because of how I was driving, I would never scold them for it. Instead, I would take whatever advice they were giving and alter my driving habits so that they were more safe. Whether it be never driving drunk, not allowing any distractions, or just adapting my driving to the road conditions, I will always follow the advice I learned from others, as well my driver education curriculum, to continue my safe driving in years to come.