Drivers education; the rules to stay clear in chaos

Driver Education

The rules to stay clear in chaos

By Nita Shrestha

I remember my 14-year-old self watching the movie Fast and Furious, being completely starstruck by the cars and speed. However, going to therapy made me realise that it wasn’t the speed or an interest in automobiles that drew me to gain this extreme obsession, it was the need to be in control of something as majestic as cars. I have had a fair share of anxiety disorders when I was a teen and it’s wonderful to acknowledge how living in a toxic household can mess you up. I associated cars with freedom, liberty to just pick up my car and leave for a short drive. I used my driving skills as escapism which was a destructive behaviour. There were times I went to long drives without a permit, and honestly, that’s a sin I will not repeat. And I even got away with it because regular check-in are quite whack in my country. I was driving like an adult, thinking my habits were normal, it wasn’t until an underage driver killed a woman and her son right in front of my house, I realised how irresponsible I was. How that boy could have been me, the enormous guilt of ruining someone else’s life would have destroyed me. I couldn’t get that image out of my head and my hands started to shake with fear every time I tried to hold on to the steering wheel. After that I didn’t drive for a while, not until I received an official license. Fast forward to 2021, I regularly show up for driving lessons to sharpen my skills although I got my license a year ago. I have been accepted into a college in Canada and I will move there in January. So it is crucial that I learn the most safety tactics and information about a vehicle to keep me out of problem in a foreign land.

Driving education not only introduces a young person like me to the basic mechanism of safe driving but also enhances our immediate response towards a fatal mistake or accident. Most people do not know what they are getting themselves into and fall flat on their faces when something unusual happens while driving. As a driver, while we are on the road, several factors could come towards the way that would cost us blood and money. Driving is not a self-reliant action but an alliance between me, the road and the other drivers. This is why it is important to be aware of our surroundings while driving or parking. Driving education allows us to have proper guidance while practising. Instructors can rectify the driving practices learned from the people in our home or community. I have regularly seen my friends and myself blast our favourite playlist and share food while driving. Sometimes I used to overtake another car or randomly cross yellow lights to save 5 seconds of my time. These mistakes sound so absurd and minimal but they are the ones that will come to haunt us later. My instructor told me once that driving is a lifelong, lengthy experience, there is never an end to the ways driving can destroy you. So the key advice is to never stop learning. Whenever I feel like this method to dodge the bullet is not necessary, it is my responsibility to understand that the same method will be a necessity in future, that only getting my license doesn’t mean I am the “perfect” driver. I am still struggling to put the rear-view or side mirrors at the perfect angle. But I did buy special blind spot mirrors to avoid getting hit by another vehicle. I put my phone inside a bag to avoid getting distracted. I am getting used to using turn signals while changing lanes to let the other motorists know about my intentions. I am learning stuff about my cars and honestly, it has saved me a few hundred dollars since I was taught how to repair a few damages in my car. Furthermore, I have been working to not associate driving with emotions, personal emotions to be precise. There are times when I am extremely frustrated or too excited, those replicate on my steering wheel. Sometimes I am late for functions, I choose shortcuts and cross my speed limits. That’s why I am trying very hard to keep my driving experience very practical. I try to get proper sleep, keep my head clear and if something awful happens to me that day, I like to avoid driving as much as possible. It helps a lot since I will not be responsible for any unforeseeable event that will occur if my angsty self is driving with tears in my eyes. 

Secondly, being from a third-world country, it’s a privilege to be able to buy a car and attend driving sessions regularly. Most people opt for cheaper methods, learn some basic stuff from the Internet and learn to drive using one of their family’s cars. This not only leads to improper supervision but also passes down common driving blunders from one person to another. It will be beneficial if driving lessons are included in our school curriculum so that students can be well-informed about driving laws and mistakes that they need to prevent to be safe drivers. Only getting a license doesn’t make us the “perfect” drivers. Perfect drivers don’t exist at all. Besides, a nation needs to have stricter driving rules, huge fines and punishment to control ignorant drivers. Most of the time these drivers are rich brats who get in road-rage accidents but all they get is a slap on the wrist. . I believe almost every fatal accident can be traced back to an action that could have been easily avoided. Especially among young drivers like me, the probability of the accidents increase twofold, fueled by overconfidence, inexperience, distraction or blatant ignorance. Hence, accountability is very important. The minimum age requirement for a permit is 16. I was a kid when I was 16, the guy who killed two people was also 16 and now that I am older, it’s so messed up to allow people as young as 16, to control vehicles that are such a huge responsibility. Parents shouldn’t allow young teens to drive, not even a motorbike. I have seen some bikers zoom in at the highest velocity on the main highway, heavily loaded trucks race each other in the same thing and I am not surprised that there were 10,030 road accidents with 153 casualties in 2019/20. So many factors played into fuelling these accidents whether it is the use of old vehicles carrying people more than its capacity, the condition of highways which are prone to getting landslides and late repairment, excessive crowding of people in main cities unaware of pedestrian rights and responsibilities, corrupted officials and a huge list of not implemented traffic rules. I bet a common new driver doesn’t even know what those rules are. As I mentioned earlier, most times people learn driving skills from an unauthorised individual and learn the same unauthorised techniques. If only attending driver lessons classes was a norm and stricter rules were implemented, these accidents would decrease by half. 

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