Drivers ed

According to a University of Nebraska study, young drivers who have not completed drivers ed are 75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident, and 16 percent more likely to have an accident. This study also showed that young adults who took a state-approved drivers ed course were less likely to be involved in an accident or traffic tickets than young adults who logged driving hours with a parent or adult. [Uni15]

The importance of a drivers ed helps drivers learn the road’s laws to keep themselves and others safe. All drivers need to learn the knowledge, skills, and attitudes involved with vehicle safety for all drivers and pedestrians. When drivers learn these skills, they are learning how to operate a 28,000-pound vehicle that, when used wrong, can cause severe injury or even death. It is essential that young adults seek training from professionals and pay attention and enhance these skills to keep everyone safe. Young adults would benefit from longer courses and extra more through driving tests because this would help ensure that all skills are being learned and applied before taking a venture on their own. The more experience these young adults have, the less likely they are to get into an accident or traffic ticket, thereby reducing the number of accidents on the roadways.

I have personally witnessed a friend get seriously injured in a car accident that could have been avoided if he had more knowledge of distractive driving. My friend had just received his permit and was out for a joyride when he decided to text and drive, causing him to slam head-on with a truck. My friend did not go through a drivers ed course; instead, his mother drove with him his required hours and signed off on the permit. If he had undergone drivers ed, he would have learned that texting and driving were dangerous and would have had an entire class on distractive driving that would not have led to his accident.

I believe the number one thing everyone needs to do to help make the roadways safer is to put the cell phones down. Too many people are driving and talking or texting, which has proven to be unsafe but deadly. According to a distracted driving statistic posted in June of 2020, in 2019, distracted driving accounted for 8.5 percent of fatal motor vehicle crashes. [Tay20] Every day, drivers can be seen swerving between lanes, narrowly missing cars in neighboring lanes, and when you pull up next to the vehicle that almost struck you, you find a phone in the driver’s hands with their eyes glued to the screen while driving. By everyone putting the phones down, all roadways would be safer for everyone on or near a road.