Importance of Drivers Education

During my sophomore year of high school, there was a huge incident that caused many students peril and sadness. A student named Graham Faith from one of the schools in my district passed away due to reckless driving. It was presumed that he was speeding and that he might’ve been driving angrily since he was in a quarrel with his father before getting into the car. He then spun out crashing into a pole and unfortunately passed away from the accident. This occurrence really hurt people in my school and district since the student was very well known amongst the community, he was a hero, having saved someone from drowning. All because of reckless driving, that bright light in everyone’s life was unfortunately extinguished. 

When I was a kid, around 9 years old, I was involved in an accident myself. My dad was driving my mom’s blue Mazda van, accelerating through the intersection when we were given a green light. A driver completely blows the red traffic light on his side of the intersection and hits the back end of the car. I could feel the cries of my mom and the shockwave getting sent through my body as the car spun around 180 degrees. This accident made me hesitant to step in a car for a while after that, especially since we were going to go road tripping with my dad’s car about 2 weeks ago. I could feel a constant weight in my chest any time I stepped within a car after that.

An average of 7 teens die a day from motor vehicle accidents. It’s important not to look at these as mere statistics but as sentient people who have had whole lives ahead of them that have unfortunately had to pass away due to these accidents, people like me and you. In the United States there were 36,096 deaths that have occurred as a result of a motor vehicle accident in the year of 2019. These deaths are deaths that are in vain, which can be easily prevented through driver education and driver safety. Driver education is one of the most important steps in eliminating the pandemic of motor vehicle accidents that take away lives. Simply understanding more and being present in one’s driving can prevent many accidents. 

Teenagers aged 16-19 are in the largest demographic for motor vehicle accidents. It’s easy to understand why so many more young people are involved in accidents compared to older people. Experience is key within these statistics because the more experienced of a driver one is, the less mistakes they are likely to make. Within a lot of teenagers there is typically a lot of anxiety within them when they are thrown on the road. After all, to get one’s license all that is really needed is 9 months of on hand permit training, a month and a half of driver education, and 6 hours with an instructor. I believe that this level of training is inadequate within America. I do not believe that the age to drive must be raised, but I do believe that America needs longer training to prevent automobile accidents. With longer training it is possible that even someone who would resort to reckless driving might be less likely to because they have that instruction built into them whether it be a family member or a licensed instructor. Given this amount of time that one is subjected to to get their license, once they get their license, they are still basically novices, they just know how to drive better. Of course, this is different with every person, but I believe that raising the time spent on instruction will level out the playing field and cause every driver to be more competent on the road. The driver’s tests could be much stricter as well, I do remember mine wasn’t really that strict, I have a lot more experience now as a driver, but I do not believe I deserved my license at the time that I got it. Other than raising the level of instruction, there is a lot that can be done dependent on the person driving to avoid accidents.

A great way of avoiding accidents is to simply be aware of the road and not succumb to any distractions. This would include putting one’s phone on silent while driving and placing it somewhere that they will not think of it. I cannot stress how important it is to not look at one’s phone while driving. It is a major cause of accidents because of the lack of attention to the road. Another is to stay completely sober while driving. Driving is one of the most dangerous things we do daily so why would anyone want to risk their lives and others’ by completing this task from a state of inebriation? 

There are many ways to stay safe on the road, but the most important way is to stay educated. Along with staying educated one must also stay sober while on the road. I believe if we implement more of these mindsets and educational experiences within drivers, we might be able to drastically decrease the number of useless deaths that might happen in our world.