Why Drivers ed and Safety on the Road is Necessary

Motor vehicle accidents are the most common reason for death among young adults. Nearly 40,000 people die from motor vehicles accidents a year in the U.S.,and the CDC says that in 2017 alone, motor vehicle crashes cost the U.S. $75 Billion dollars in medical care and losses in productivity. Obviously, motor vehicle accidents are a major problem, as they not only cause major financial damage, but can also result in death and can have detrimental effects on families that are affected by them. Fortunately, drivers ed and licensing programs have shown to reduce the chances of these horrific events. In order to reduce the risk of MVAs, drivers ed needs to be regularly enforced and practiced by teenagers and young adults. According to the NHTSA, a three-stage Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system can decrease the risk of teenagers crashing by 50%. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) says that for every $2 million dollars that are spent on safety programs, 1 life is saved and 60 less people are injured. Evidently, drivers ed is extremely important in order to reduce driving related deaths. In order to make sure more people are educated and know how to be safe on the road, we need more spending on driving safety programs and more public awareness on the significance of drivers ed. As a society, we need to make a greater effort to increase the amount of people that receive driving education, as well as raising the availability of licensing programs across the country.

One summer, I was with my friend in his car, headed to an arcade. We were too young to drive, so his mom agreed to drive us there. While we were on the highway I looked up to the front to see my friend’s mom texting on her phone. I had been taught from a young age that being distracted by your phone while driving can make you very prone to having an accident. This is true, as in 2017, 14% of all distraction-affected fatal crashes were caused by cell-phones. I looked over to my friend, who also noticed it. We asked his mom to put the phone away, which she did. I feel that if you are the passenger of a vehicle, you should make sure that your driver is being responsible, as well as politely reminding them of any safety regulation that they may be violating. As a driver, you should always be up to date on vehicle safety, and you should be able to respectfully accept criticism if you are not driving safely.

Hopefully, the ideas that I have expressed in this essay have enlightened you on the importance of drivers ed, as well the steps that can be taken to increase safety and reduce deaths on the road.