The power of Driver’s Education

As a kid, learning how to drive was always something I dreamed about. Driving to me meant that I was maturing and becoming an adult. “Can I park the car?” I would always ask my parents eagerly, and not surprisingly, the answer was always, “No.” Until one day when I was actually old enough to get my driver’s permit, my dad finally allowed me to park the car in the garage. (And by “park,” I mean back up into the stall.) I was thrilled; I opened the driver’s side door and hopped in. “Now hold on,” my dad warned as he got into the passenger side, “there are safety precautions that need to be taken before you start.” He explained and proceeded to walk me through a spiel of seatbelt safety and mirror checks.

When you are a young person, determined to get out on the road, your first thought may not be, what steps do I need to take to be as safe as possible? But with the help of drivers education, these safety precautions are instilled into the minds of new drivers. It is essential for those who are looking to start their lives behind a wheel to learn how to be safe so that ultimately, we reduce the statistics of death by driving. Driver’s education informs drivers of how to minimalize the risk of car accidents through various methods, habits that should be developed when driving, and bad habits that should be avoided.

I’m sure everyone who has heard the term “click it or ticket,” which is a campaign that aims to enforce wearing a seatbelt in the car, and this is for good reason; According to the National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration website, almost 15,000 lives were saved by using seatbelts. The website also states that more than half the people who were killed on the road were not wearing seatbelts. This goes to show that seatbelts really do save lives and it is an important step in keeping yourself and others safe when in a vehicle.

Other steps that can be taken, are obeying traffic signs, and yielding to pedestrians and cyclists. Of course this ties into road user education, that is why it is so important. If road users were better equipped with the knowledge of how to drive, what road signs mean, and the importance of obeying them, they would be able to act out what they know on the road. Drunk driving and sleepy driving are two other significant negative driving habits that result in fatalities. Avoiding driving while drunk or sleepy are two major decisions people make that can impact not only their lives but the lives of others.

With the advancement of modern technology, it is easy to get swept away into the digital world of your smartphone. Because of this, it becomes a habit to check our phones whenever we get a notification. With that being said, even while driving, it is very tempting to sneak a peak at those notifications. But in the 2 seconds that the driver isn’t looking at the road, anything could happen. A car can pop up out of no where or even a pedestrian. The time that you stop to check your phone for a second is the time that an accident can happen. This is why it is important to restrain yourself from picking up a device and distracting yourself from being alert on the road.

I have never actually been in a car accident, but I know some of my family members who have. I’ve also observed their bad driving habits such as: speeding up at yellow lights, not signaling their turns, not signaling lane changes, checking their phones while driving, cutting others off, and not checking blind spots, to name a few. While these are probably common bad driving habits that everyone has picked up on from time to time, the reality is, this could cost them a life.

As I continue to learn how to drive, I try to steer away from these bad habits and foster good habits. For instance, once I get in the car, I immediately put my seatbelt on, after all, I don’t have the money to pay off any fines. When I do see family members succumbing to their old ways, I try to remind them of what they should be doing like signaling a turn. Having the knowledge of driving, and being safe while driving is a powerful tool that everyone should be able to have, to reduce/prevent an accident or fatalities. Now that I have consistantly practiced and demonstrated my safe driving habits, my dad is able to trust me more when I am in the driver’s seat. I hope to use my knowledge to keep myself and others safe.