The Importance of Driver’s Education

Driving is an everyday part of life that the majority of the population participates in. While it is so easy to get behind the wheel, it is such a dangerous thing to put that vehicle into drive and go from point A to point B. It is very important for everyone to be educated in all of the aspects of driving! Being educated on how to safely drive will reduce the number of driving related deaths. It is heartbreaking seeing people close to you become injured or deceased by their own poor driving skills or those of others. In an accident of my own, I have been able to see firsthand that driving is incredibly scary when people are uneducated in it. Driving can easily take a person to where they need to be, but it can also easily take a person’s life; safe driving skills and increasing the number of educated drivers can decrease these tragedies.

Taking driver’s ed is such an exciting part of a teenager’s life, however only some of these students are aware of the responsibilities they are taking on in becoming licensed drivers. Driver’s ed teaches students numerous rules, techniques, and skills to acquire before hitting the roads solo. All of this knowledge is vital to the safety of that student and everyone around them! Something as simple as knowing the difference between yellow and a flashing yellow can make the difference between safely stopping or turning into oncoming traffic. On top of all of the rules, road signs, and instructions; defensive driving is an important skill on its own that is introduced in driver’s ed. While practice makes perfect, defensive driving should be well established in a driver before they should travel very far.

Defensive driving is much more than just following the rules and doing exactly what was taught in drivers ed. Those behind the wheel cannot control the actions of the numerous others who are on the roads as well. Instead of relying on the skills of nearby drivers, people need to be ready for others to make mistakes and be ready to change their own course quickly to protect everyone involved. This is called defensive driving. To decrease the number of driving related deaths, more people who are behind the wheel should show defensive driving skills. Some steps to increase defensive driving and reduce the number of driving related deaths include:

1. Think of safety first. The purpose of driving is to get from point A to point B, however this purpose should not be the first thing that is thought of. The safety of everyone should be thought of first and foremost.

Watch the surroundings. It is easy for new drivers to be focused on only what is right in front of them, however this is a dangerous habit to get into! There could be a mom with a stroller walking across the road to the left, a car slamming on its brakes straight ahead, an animal running across the road to the right, multiple directional and warning signs all around, and a vehicle running a red light to the left. Being able to pay attention to the surroundings and act quickly and accordingly is a life saving defensive driving technique.

Eliminate distractions. Even the best of drivers who have had years of experience can get themselves into a painful situation by letting themselves become distracted. Tips for eliminating distractions include turning off cell phone notifications; choosing a single playlist or radio station and leaving is set while the vehicle is moving; asking other members in the vehicle nicely to be quiet while driving; choosing not to drive if one is upset, angry, or experiencing strong emotions; and many other ways to ensure the drive will be free from unnecessary distractions.

Keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead. There should always be plenty of room between vehicles to assure that if something were to happen where the car ahead came to a quick halt, there would be plenty of time for slowing down to eliminate the chance of crashing into that car ahead. If everyone could follow this simple task, the number of collisions, driving related injuries, and deaths would be greatly reduced!

Increase driving knowledge beyond drivers ed. After taking driver’s ed, I learned how to drive as well as many rules, tips, and other general aspects of driving; however, it was not until I took another 1 month long course on safety and defensive driving that I took it more seriously. There are many resources including videos and websites that can increase knowledge, awareness, safety, and responsibility that can make a huge difference to the driver.

These 5 steps are a few of many very important tips and skills that can save lives and reduce injuries and trauma.

Some of these steps were not followed when I was in a car accident two years ago. A friend of mine was driving an old truck with only the front bench seat on a dirt road. In the truck was the driver, his brother, my sister, and I all in the front seat. The driver was going way too fast on the windy dirt road filled with potholes and no one in the vehicle had safety in mind. Music was blaring, seat belts were non-existent, we were going 55-60mph on a 15mph road, and the driver was unfamiliar with all of the turns in the road. Needless to say, there was not a single good driving skill that was put into practice, and we paid that price. We went around a corner that was unexpected to the driver, he drifted it, overcorrected the steering, and sent us crashing head-on into multiple trees. I was sitting somewhat on top of two others, so I was thrown up and bounced my head off of the dash and into the windshield and broke the glass. Surprisingly enough, I had always been extremely cautious in everything I did including driving. School was the most important thing to me as I was working towards my goal of going to medical school to become a radiologist. I made one wrong decision that I was not even sure if I wanted to go on that drive with them, and it cost me a year of my life. From the car accident, I suffered two herniated discs in my spine with nerve impingements that ran down my right leg and right arm, and a traumatic brain injury. I was in so much pain from my back injuries that I had to lay on the floor constantly or be on an inverted table every so often. The brain injury left me feeling like I was not a complete person and very out of it all the time. I had little memory of the accident, my short term memory was impaired, and I had a very difficult time reading and speaking. This caused me to drop the semester of school I was in which I had made it past mid term with straight A’s, and I had to relearn many math and studying skills that I had worked so hard at acquiring. One year later, I started feeling like myself again, my memory was coming back along with my reading skills, the stuttering in my speech had stopped, and I felt more confident putting full weight on my right leg. My 17 year old life was a blur, but I am incredibly thankful that I had this amazing recovery! I am also grateful for the increased awareness of the dangers of driving that this has brought me. Most people are not so lucky as to survive a crash like this, let alone get back on their feet so quickly. Safe driving skills can reduce the number of deaths as well as traumatic experiences and injuries such as mine and, sadly, many others.

There are many wonderful steps that can help myself and others be safer drivers. Making sure to remove all unnecessary distractions is exceptional for safety. This includes other people who might be loud or unsafe. It is also very important to wait the extra couple of seconds before moving in places like stop lights, stop signs, parking lots, driveways, etc. It is easy to wait a few seconds longer before going to make sure that no one is running any lights, or stop signs, and that no pedestrians are in your path. Keeping safe distances between vehicles is another easy habit to acquire that can make all the difference in the safety of multiple groups of people. Knowledge in the area of driver’s safety should be increased by everyone even beyond drivers ed. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes getting into an accident, or watching friends or family get into an accident, to become more aware of the dangers of driving and the importance of being defensive and well educated in it. Safety first should be the initial thought present in every driver out there!

The everyday activity of driving is a wonderful advantage that most people have, as well as a dangerous one. Going from one place to another, despite the distance, is very serious and has cost many people their lives. It is vitally important that everyone is educated in all of the aspects of driving. Upon doing this, and making safe driving techniques well known by as many people as possible, the number of driving related deaths and injuries could be greatly reduced. In my own car accident, I was able to directly see how scary driving can be when people are uneducated in it. I hope that a more widespread awareness of the need for safer driving can reduce how many people end up in these heartbreaking situations. Driving can easily take a person from point A to point B; however, it can also easily take a person’s life; safe driving skills and increasing the number of educated drivers can decrease these tragedies.