Driver’s Education: Why don’t we care?

Driver’s education is something I feel many young adults don’t take seriously, even myself at times. Before we turn fifteen, our parents are drilling us about reading the book so we know all the information we are supposed to before we go and take the permit test. As teenagers the last thing we want to do is study and listen to our parents. As one of those teenagers, I look back and wish I would have cared a lot more in the end. To be honest, I can’t remember anything I read. Many kids are in the same boat as myself, so why is it we didn’t take driver’s education seriously? Why are we putting ourselves and others at risk?

The importance of driver’s education in reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving is obviously to protect all citizens, including reckless drivers, educated drivers, and their passengers. “Road traffic crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States for people aged 1-54 and they are the leading cause of non-natural death for U.S. citizens residing or traveling abroad”[Glo20]. It is important for educators to make sure all drivers know the way to drive so everyone can have trust on the road. Deaths by car accident is a large leading number that could be reduced by a fourth, with the right amount of education given to each person.

First, if we started where all education comes from, we may be able to prevent teens from ignoring things we should be looking at. If I personally would have had a class for driver’s safety I would have learned a lot more and been more motivated. If we start by giving all teens the education they need, we can prevent people from not reading the book or procrastinating something very important. Second, I think a better system with the testing tablets should be put in place. When it came to take my test I barely remembered any of the things I quickly read before going in to take the test. So, when I missed a question I easily remembered the answer and filled it in correctly the second time I took it. I wasn’t looking out for the best interest of others or myself, I was looking to finish the test. It is terrible to say, but so many people do it.

A few months after I turned 16, it was time to take my test after being in quarantine for weeks on end. Throughout this time period I could have been practicing driving and studying more since I had nothing else to do, but instead I waited till last minute as usual. At the end of the day I passed with a 74. A couple months after I got my license, I was driving home from a practice when I nearly hit someone head on turning a 90-degree angle curve. The curve is on a gravel road with uneven platform so I couldn’t see anyone around the other side. Instead of paying close attention and getting as far on my side as I could, I slacked and cut it a little sharp resulting in my driver side head light clipping the opposite car’s driver side headlight. This was a wake up call for me, I knew that I needed to stop acting like I knew everything there is about the road. Since then I have never slacked while driving and I think that is something that gives me the motivation to want to be a better driver.

To make myself a better driver, I have started paying more attention to the things that others do wrong and fix myself to their mistakes, along with my own. As a driver or passenger, I think it is very important to always be paying attention and communicating what can be done to make everyone a safe and better driver. Throughout our lives we are taught to take feedback and learn from it and I think driver’s education should preach that a little more. As a whole, we are always learning and taking notes from each other, but resources such as books and factual websites are always going to be the best option when it comes to learning how to drive safely.

In conclusion, I believe that we are putting ourselves and others at risk at the expense of our own confidence. Growing up it has always been glorified to get your license and be free, but I think too many of us take that to heart-I know I did. We get too caught up in the idea to go out and drive, but we aren’t putting into perspective what needs to come first. Driver’s education should use that by informing more young adults about the concerns of unsafe drivers and what they can do to prevent those future people.

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