It Starts with Education

Transportation is a necessary part of life in the United States; everyone drives or rides to get around and because driving is so ubiquitous, safety needs to be a priority. A simple internet search will return a host of alarming statistics surrounding permanent and debilitating life altering impacts or loss of life as a result of car accidents. However, the good news is there are ways to reduce the number of deaths and injury as a result of poor driving. By mandating driver’s education classes, new drivers can learn how to become safer and better drivers when they hit the road which will return more positive numbers in the future.

Car accidents can have devastating effects. My teacher’s mother was rear-ended while at a stop light and due to this incident, her life has been forever altered. This woman was only 56 years old when the accident occurred, but she has been living with chronic pain for the past 14 years, which has permanently scarred the trajectory of her life. According to a statistic found on driving-tests.org around 2 million drivers in car accidents experience permanent injuries every year. (Driver Knowledge, 2019) This is an extremely frightening statistic that requires immediate attention because living with chronic pain is no life at all.

The ultimate sacrifice for unsafe driving is death. The Driver’s Education Initiative on the dmvedu.org site stated, “In the U.S. alone, an average of 34,000 people die each year as a result of driving. This number is more than the total number of fatalities of American soldiers who’ve died from war in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.” These stats are incredibly jarring. Why is it that driving causes more deaths than war? Regardless of the answer, it’s imperative to create safer drivers. How can this be accomplished? The answer is simple: education. All drivers should receive instruction from certified educators.

Drivers are required to attend traffic school after receiving a ticket for a moving traffic violation because research has proven that education is key. So why not make these courses a requirement to earning a license to begin with? Participation, engagement, and learning from licensed driving instructors in specially designed courses is the first step in better preparing new drivers as they take to the road. According to the Nebraska Prevention Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse, young drivers who have not completed driver’s education are 75 percent more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury-inducing accident, and 16 percent more likely to have an accident. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute says that driver-related factors such as distraction were present in almost 90 percent of crashes. Which means, texting and driving is a big no-no. Fortunately, by taking the necessary steps, these shocking findings will be modified to reflect a more positive outcome in the future.

A driver’s goal should always be to “drive safe, arrive alive.” With that said, safe driving should be done in solidarity as a community. Each and every driver is responsible for not only their own life and the lives of their passengers, but also has a responsibility to the drivers around them. Maintaining a safe driving record can be achieved by adhering to the following set of rules and guidelines. A driver should acquire the proper training from a professional through specially designed driving coursework. A driver should never drive under the influence. When needed, a driver should take advantage of the different modes of available public transportation or other transportation services. To reduce or eliminate potential distractions, a driver should never text and drive. In addition, a driver must follow the posted speed limits and all other posted rules of the road.

Although I myself am not yet a licensed driver, I’m very well acquainted with unsafe driving among teens. I’ve witnessed many of my friends driving completely irresponsibly and sometimes under the influence of mind-altering substances. According to an article published in the Chicago Tribune in 2017, one in four drivers used a cell phone right before their involvement in a crash. I’ve seen friends texting while driving and I have also been in the car when they’ve chosen to speed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provided a statistic from 2018 which states that speeding accounted for 31 percent of U.S. teen driver fatalities. Watching my friends engage in unsafe behaviors has always done a number on my nerves. I’ve not only worried for my own safety, but for the safety of my friends and the other drivers on the road, as well. If my friends get the opportunity to learn safe driving behaviors, potential accidents can and will be prevented.

Regardless of where you live or your status in life, navigating the roads safely is a necessity for everyone, everywhere. Driver’s education plays a crucial role in building a body of safe and defensive drivers. Education is paramount for the protection and preservation of life. For these reasons, driver’s education should be mandatory for all current and future drivers.