Drivers ed and it’s Importance in Society

Drivers ed and its Importance in Society

Drivers ed greatly reduces the number of deaths resulting from driving. Students in drivers ed learn extremely important information that helps ensure safe driving. Steps to be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving include but are not limited to: requiring drivers ed for all new drivers, raise the legal age for a motorcycle only license, include more texting and driving in education materials, and enforcing unsafe driving laws. Currently there are only 32 states requiring drivers ed for teenagers and not all states require those over the age of 18, even if they are a new driver or not, to complete drivers ed. The assumption that any new driver over the age of 18 will have enough drivers ed to safely get behind the wheel is risking other drivers’ lives. Allowing 14-year-old minors to obtain a motorcycle only license in Oklahoma is also a risky decision. At the age of 14, many children do not realize the risk they are taking by controlling a motor vehicle. Expecting someone under the age of 16 to pay attention well enough to protect their own lives, as well as others, is overestimating a child’s ability. Motorcycles are one of the most dangerous vehicles to drive, they are hard for other drivers to see, and can flip easier than a 4-wheel motor vehicle.

Including more educational materials on texting and driving is crucial to decreasing the risk of death related to driving. Texting and driving is an extreme issue in today’s society. Smartphones are very common for teenagers to have and therefore pose a risk for new drivers. Answering a text seems like a small thing when driving but causes a large majority of accidents today. Requiring more materials, and maybe even adding test questions about the issue, could draw more attention to the problem in drivers ed. This can also be prevented by enforcing unsafe driving laws. Pulling over those who are driving unsafely, no matter how small that is, can discourage others from doing those same small things. Stopping someone from doing something unsafe that’s small may prevent a fatal crash later down the road. I have never personally witnessed someone driving irresponsibly but have had friends whose family members have died because of unsafe driving. I plan to start doing my best to stop the small distractions I have while driving including eating, talking on the phone, and listening to my music too loudly.