A Strange Coincidence

A Strange Coincidence

My friend got into a car accident the day before I wrote this essay. He hydroplaned into a ditch during my town’s first snow of the year. Another one of my friends was in the car with him. Luckily, nobody was injured, but the car was totaled. My friend is not the type of person to be reckless and drive wildly, but he never participated in any kind of driving school, so I think the problem that he encountered was a misunderstanding of how to properly handle a car in poor weather.

Unlike my friend, I took driver’s education classes, but I only did it because it helped my family out with the cost of car insurance. I was dreading my first lesson. My dad was teaching me by himself well enough. ‘What else did I have to learn,’ I thought. I did not want to be stuck in a car with some random guy for three hours straight. When the first lesson rolled around, I was pleasantly surprised. My driving instructor, Fred, was very good at explaining certain concepts to me that I did not quite understand. We drove on some highways, we went down windy backroads, and we parallel parked…the whole nine yards.

The most important thing that I learned during the several lessons over the course of the program was how much I actually did not know about driving. There were plenty of tricks that Fred taught me that made more comfortable when I was driving. I also practiced after lessons with an app on my phone. It was a PA Driving Practice Test that was helpful for applying the concepts from the PA Driver’s Manual.

I thought about all of that when my friend had his accident. Maybe, if that resource was more widely available, or if it did not cost as much, or if it was promoted throughout our school district as a way to get new drivers to form these habits early, then that could create a better foundation for the future driver. It only makes sense that teaching people will improve their competency at driving, or any skill for that matter.

Where I am from, it used to be common practice for driving education to be taught through public schools as a summer class that students could opt to take for a small fee. My mom talks about learning to drive in a school class, so it could not have been that long ago where a system like that was in place for young people. I think that these classes should be brought back as a way to make driving safer for everyone. If this were to become the standard, then it only makes sense that the population at large would benefit.

My friend attends the same school I do, so in a scenario like I am picturing we both would have been given an equal opportunity to be safe and aware of what goes on on the road. Of course, there could be other resources out there for more one-on-one learning, but that would operate like a tutoring session. I will say, though, that would be a huge overhaul in the curriculum for students, but there are other ways of reaching young drivers like school assemblies and sponsorships with youth organizations like school sports teams, clubs, community events, and other things. My main point here is to say that the earlier we teach America’s drivers about safe driving practices, the fewer deaths there will be from driving.

From my own personal experience, I did not think that I had any more to learn and that driving school would be a waste of time, but I learned plenty of things that I otherwise would not have known. My own overconfidence in my ability could have gotten me into a situation like my friend’s, or worse.

I was quite surprised to learn on the DmvEdu.org website that there were more automobile fatalities than deaths from the military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. I could not believe something that I now do every day, going to work and back home again, was that fundamentally dangerous. If any kind of assembly was held at my school highlighting these basic facts that could start improving things immediately.

It is strange how the timing of all of this worked out. I began my scholarship search expecting to submit a few simple essays just so I can get a scholarship and be done with it, but my friend’s accident lining up with this is such a significant coincidence. I am definitely going to be more careful and cautious driving in the snow with these winter months coming up, and I will encourage all my friends to do the same. I am thankful for my wonderful teacher Fred and my parents who convinced me to give the class a shot in the first place.