The Importance of Drivers ed in Encouraging Safe Driving

The Importance of Drivers ed in Encouraging Safe Driving

The first time I was in a car crash, I was very little. The sky outside was inky black, and my dad was driving. He couldn’t stop in time as a car turned left out of a plaza in front of us without looking. I remember sitting in the car as my dad talked to the police(??) after. Luckily, no one was hurt, but it taught me the importance of safe driving. If the person driving that car had looked to see my dad’s car coming, that accident wouldn’t have happened.

In a car, it’s easy to feel safe from things around us, to feel like the metal body of the car will protect us. It’s easy to zone out and become distracted by passengers or the radio, letting muscle memory guide us. However, driving unsafely is very dangerous, and driving is not a responsibility to be taken lightly.

We have to remember that driving is a responsibility to anyone who may be in the car with us, and to everyone around us. When you’re driving, your decisions can mean life or death for yourself and your loved ones.

The easiest way to be a safer driver is to simply obey the law. The first step to this is drivers ed; new drivers need to know the rules of the road. A study by the University of Nebraska showed that teens who took drivers ed courses were less likely to be involved in accidents or get tickets. Taking a drivers ed course helped me learn things that I never would have with just practicing. It’s important to learn about what to do in case of an accident or unprecedented situation.

However, even with drivers ed, many people are inclined to try to take shortcuts. I often see people drive well over the speed limit and turn or merge without signalling. Although these things seem small, they could easily lead to an accident, which could be fatal. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, speeding contributes to more than a fourth of all accidents. Arriving somewhere two minutes faster isn’t worth your life.

We need to teach new drivers about the dangers of driving, in a way that is meaningful. In order to do this, drivers ed needs to speak to teens seriously and from their level, rather than sounding condescending to trying too hard to be appealing to teens. Drivers ed should both teach teens how to drive safely as well as show them why they need to.

Sources

https://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study:+Driver%27s+ed+significantly+reduces+teen+crashes,+tickets#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20that%20followed,traffic%20violations%20among%20new%20drivers.

https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/speeding