Gas Station

Going to work, going to school, going to the store, and visiting others; people in America drive so much! With 89% of Americans having their license, there are more licensed drivers than in any other country. China, for example, only has 40% of the population licensed and Germany has 67%. With such a large number of licensed drivers, there is a greater chance of being injured or even killed in a driving accident. Statistics show that car accidents happen every 60 seconds, which is 5.25 million accidents per year. With all of the driving in America, it is imperative that Driver’s Education is made a priority to all new drivers in order to save lives.

From the time I was young, I would always hear “don’t drink and drive”, “buckle up”, “give people space,” but I had never heard people talking about Driver’s Education. Once I got my permit, it was like an afterthought, instead of the other sayings being drilled into my head year after year. However, Driver’s Education would provide so much more than those sayings, like rules of the road and building up confidence. Driving is terrifying at first, there is so much going on and you don’t know how everything works, but Driver’s Education teaches you all the rules and how to handle all that stress. Unfortunately, because of COVID, I wasn’t able to take the course, but I wish I had. I bet I would be less stressed while driving.

Since my dad travels a lot for his job and I’m the oldest, there is a lot of pressure for me to be able to drive, so that I could help with errands, taking my siblings to practice and being more independent. At first, this sounded amazing; but as the time went by, it just became a source of stress. To add to that, I had to learn how to drive from my mom because all driver’s education courses were closed because of COVID. With each one of her gasps, little-by-little, I learned how to maneuver the car and luckily was able to pass the driver’s test. Though I just passed by the skin of my teeth, I didn’t feel confident driving before, during or after the test. Even so, after I got my license, my mom had no problem putting it to work.

One day when she was tired after work, she asked me to go get milk from the gas station. That was my first driving experience by myself, which was full of stress and anxiety and ended with me crying behind the wheel. That stress has never gotten out of my system and I am not that confident driving. The short drive from home to the gas station should have been a breeze; and at first, it was. I got there and pulled into a parking spot, no problem. Getting out of the parking spot was what went wrong. The parking lot was busier than normal, which didn’t help with my existing anxiousness. I felt like there was a brick in my throat. People in the parking lot were very impatient, so I felt like I needed to be quick. Also, I have always struggled with backing out of parking spots. When backing out, I looked both ways and thought I was clear, but I wasn’t! I nicked the end of someone’s car, scratching his back bumper and the front of mine. Once I realized what I had done, I pulled back into the parking spot and that’s when the emotions hit me. I started crying and pulled out my phone to call my Dad. It was a mess. I was hyperventilating and my words were incoherent. When my dad arrived and spoke to the owner of the car, he didn’t seem to care much. Luckily, there was more damage to my car than to his and no one was injured. Though this could have easily become something larger, it doesn’t take much to end someone’s life in a car. This minor event has permanently left a mark on my life, since then and the idea of driving myself scares me.

Clearly, I’m not confident behind the wheel, I feel like if I had taken Driver’s Education I wouldn’t be so stressed. Driver’s Education is important not only to teach students how to drive, but also to have more confidence while driving. When someone is confident, they are less likely to make mistakes, which could lead to less accidents and even less deaths. A small action like taking Driver’s Education would save hundreds of lives and lower your insurance.