The Importance of Driver’s Education

“Honk if you love Jesus and text if you want to meet him.” Taking this joke literally, death related to driving continues to grow and the citizens of America are greatly affected. An average of 34,000 people die in driving-related accidents each year. This needs to stop. The best way for this number to be reduced is if drivers have been educated thoroughly before sitting behind the wheel. DmvEdu.org has been encouraging this movement for years. With a little education, the roads could become so much safer.

Educating our drivers is beyond important. According to the University of Nebraska’s “News Room”, teens taking driver’s education classes are less likely to get into accidents. Think about if all people took these classes! Accidents would be lessened and driver’s education classes would become the norm. These classes not only teach the basics of driving, but also the fundamentals of any “what if” driving situation. This would prepare drivers for the worst and the hardest driving conditions, but also the best and the easiest. Driver’s education being taught would provide drivers with knowledge of street signs, traffic signals, right of way, lane changing, turning safely, and vehicle maintenance. As an experienced driver and passenger, this would make me feel 100 times more comfortable on the road.

To reduce the number of deaths related to driving there are some basic steps I would take. Firstly, people should learn to buckle up. In thirty-nine out of fifty states, this is the law yet it’s easily forgotten. Seat belts save an average of about 15,000 people per year. If a car were to get into a collision with someone unbuckled, the likelihood of them dying is much much greater than with someone who is buckled. Secondly, stop intoxicated driving. Being impaired by alcohol or other drugs is a huge reason that drivers and passengers add to the driving death rates. Have a designated driver or call an Uber! There are easy solutions to make our roads even a little bit safer. Lastly, according to idrivesafely.com the biggest culprit for deaths related to driving is distraction. Phones, passengers, loud music, other vehicles, and more. All these distractions cause accidents that cause death. Getting rid of unnecessary distractions such as phones and loud music would greatly lessen the amount of danger on the road. Getting rid of all these culprits and putting basic education in place would result in much safer roads for everyone.

I remember being 15 and being with my best friend, Rachel, in her car. It was a summer day and we had chosen to spend our time shopping. Rachel had just gotten her license so we were experiencing newfound freedom. We were on our way to a shopping center when Rachel looked down and realized she needed gas. We stopped at the nearest gas station and started looking for a spot to park. I pointed out a spot that we had previously passed and Rachel threw the car in reverse without checking her mirrors or turning around to look behind her. If Rachel would have been taught the basic steps of reversing, we wouldn’t have gotten in an accident that day. A car had been backing up at the same time as us and we collided. Both cars ended up with huge dents and both drivers ended up being hugely upset. With a little education and a lot of focus, I wouldn’t have had to go through that roller coaster of distress and distracted driving on that day. Not only was Rachel at fault, but so was the other driver. Both drivers needed to have taken the extra step of disposing of distractions and adding in driver education.

I’ve been a driver for almost two years and I’ve learned the hard way that putting your phone down, turning down the music, and limiting the number of passengers is always worth it. Getting from point A to point B in a car isn’t always the safest bet, but when you take the distraction away it becomes safer. I will educate myself on the basic laws of the road. I have put a value on knowing the street signs, the lay of the land, and basic road rules. We’ve all heard the joke, why did the chicken cross the road?. But here’s my response to that commonly teased question, because it’s a chicken and it doesn’t understand the dangers in doing such a thing. Driver’s education is imperative to the drivers of our generation, and maybe the chickens too.