Driver’s Education – Listen to the Feedback

When a young teenager initially gets behind the wheel, they feel both excitement and a little fear. A driver’s education class looks at this experience from all angles by allowing young drivers to learn the rules of the road along with so much more. Week by week, drivers learn from their mistakes, hone their observations, and learn to create possible scenarios in order to be prepared for anything that comes their way. A study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in August of 2015 followed teen drivers over 8 years. According to the study, drivers that had not completed driver’s education were 24% more likely to be involved in an accident that results in an injury or even fatality. This study also shows that teen drivers that had not taken driver’s education were 75% more likely to get a ticket from a traffic violation and 16% more likely to be in a minor accident. To put the study into one sentence: Driver’s education yields better drivers.

Many young drivers drive on their own as soon as the law allows, but young drivers’ inexperience impacts their driving decisions. Driver’s education gives them the opportunity to observe driving decisions, experience scenarios, and discuss reactions. These discussions show how to avoid disastrous situations. To give context with my personal experiences, my mom insisted on driving with me after taking driver’s education and getting my licence for a year (this was before the new mandatory hour logs). Although I didn’t like it at the time, it did make me a better driver. She would give me feedback, tell me to look ahead and scan the road for possible problems, and especially to slow down. When I drove on icy roads, she told me to drive like I had a pot of soup in the back seat that I didn’t want to spill. I thought this was ridiculous at the time, but she didn’t want me to make sudden moves on ice. Looking back at how much time I spent driving with my mom after getting my licence, I am assured South Dakota’s new state driving decision to require young drivers to log experience with an adult before they get their license will give my state better future drivers.

Many of my friends have parents that let them do anything they want on the road. Although I sometimes wish my mom would do this too, I know rules on the road will be better for me in the long run. My friends have driven on road trips for 3 hours while on their phone, driven on icy and snowy roads that were soon closed because they were dangerous, and driven late at night when they were exhausted. The one thing that people often do not think about is how distracting and stressful a carload of friends can be. For example, I know a girl whose parents gave her a brand new Range Rover the day she got her driver’s license, and later that day she crashed it when riding with her friends. Another major area for accidents is the school parking lot. A place full of brand new cars that are obviously driven by inexperienced drivers that do not know how to park correctly. Several unreported bumper and car door dents occur daily in our school parking lot. Although it is tempting for some parents to try and be the “Cool Mom and Dad”, brag to their friends, or want their kids to like them more. Parents should consider the risks of saying “yes” to road trips with a group of teenage friends and consider if they have enough experience to handle these new experiences.

Some drivers seem to think driving recklessly makes them appear like they are skillful drivers or that they are dangerous and exciting. These behaviors actually show their lack of respect for the passengers in their vehicle and others on the road. I was in a vehicle where the driver drove over 115 miles on a dirt road. To tell the truth, It was a scary experience that made me distrust him. He didn’t listen to those in the car that told him to slow down. Due to his imprudent attitude and refusal to listen to those around him, I won’t ride in a car with him again. Friends have tried to personally talk with him about this recklessness, but he thinks that nothing bad will happen to him if he continues to memorize where police officers are stationed and memorize how fast his vehicle can go without burning out. Sometimes it is difficult to listen to what others have to say about our driving styles, but if what we do puts others in danger, it is necessary to put down our pride to save another person’s life.

I still don’t like driving with my mom, but she doesn’t give me as much feedback as she did when I was a new driver, so hopefully that means I am getting better. I have realized that I can be a better driver by listening to people’s feedback and getting more experience. I especially need more experience driving on ice, in snow, in the rain, on the Interstate, and on dirt roads, so I can be more secure about driving back from college. Driving more with new experiences will give me added time to react to dangerous situations. Taking driver’s education has given me a base to build these new driving experiences.

Citations

Reed, Leslie. “Study: Driver’s Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets.” Study: Driver’s Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets | Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Nebraska, 13 Aug. 2015, news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/study-driver-s-ed-significantly-reduces-teen-crashes-tickets/.