The Importance of Diver Education & Safety

Margaret Ortwerth

The Importance of Diver Education & Safety

When I took my driver’s test, I did not feel ready to drive on my own. What I did feel was the pressure to know how to drive so that I could drive myself to my school in the morning instead of riding on the bus. I know I was not the only person who felt this way, and even though I was certainly much more equipped to drive by the time I was parking in front of my high school in the morning, this culture of needing to learn to drive and receive a license as soon as possible – it needs to end.

Driving without the proper education does not just danger the life of the person driving, but everyone else on the road as well. When my mother had breast cancer and I asked if she was scared, she honestly replied that it was more likely for her to drive to work and die in a car accident than for her to die of her cancer. That should not be the case, and the number of deaths that occur every single day from lack of proper education in driving is ridiculously preventable. Education is strength and safety, and by increasing drivers ed and putting a stronger emphasis on proper education lives will inevitably be saved.

The steps to decreasing the amount of deaths should not only be limited to the government, but also should be a mandatory course, even if only a quarter or a semester, in schooling. Additionally, there should be mandatory retakes of the driver’s test every 20 years after the original testing, so that older drivers with beginning to fail eyesight, hearing, and reaction times will not be a danger to themselves or other drivers.

When my sister was a senior in high school, she had a car accident with the school bus my little sister, in kindergarten, was riding to school in. It was traumatising not only for the children, but for my sister as well. Over the years she has had unfortunate circumstances, being hit by other people multiple times, that have caused her to have been in many car accidents, and as a result she has had concussions, and has developed a stutter. This was preventable, but the rest of her life will be affected by the irresponsibility of the system and the drivers in it.

In an effort to become a better driver, and help others around me become better as well, I try and show a good example. I know that criticism of others will make them less likely to listen and learn. I stop fully at stop signs, obey speed limits, and stay alert while behind the wheel.

Drivers ed and safety is not just something to be recommended, it is necessary in order to have a safer world to live and drive in.