The Significance of Driver Education

At some point in a teenager’s life, specifically around the ages of 16 and 17, driving becomes a desirable and exciting new activity that everyone decides to try. As we grow up, developing the personal responsibility of driving oneself to and from school, work, activities, and hangouts with friends is seen as a number one priority. Having a parent, other family, or even a friend as a ride becomes inconvenient for many young students who are determined to take a hold of their own lives. Around this time, many teenagers decide to take action in following these steps to achieve their license such as taking driver’s education, taking the permit test, and ultimately taking the official behind the wheel test. Taking such steps to achieve a driver’s license, especially at such a young age, is crucial in ensuring that young adults are practicing safety when driving.

As the number of young teen drivers increases, the amount of American deaths caused from car accidents has significantly increased in recent years and has become more dangerous than ever. With this being said, it is extremely important that young adults take the mandatory courses that are required before obtaining a driver’s license. By requiring such a rigorous amount of training, it is desired that the amount of deadly accidents will begin to decrease. Taking driver’s education provides individuals with the foundation of road rules and ensures that teens are well prepared before being eligible to obtain a driving permit. Driver’s education is perfectly designed to guarantee that recipients are actively engaging in the activities and are able to retain all the information given. Having taken the driver’s education course myself, I can agree that this course indefinitely helped me to better understand the importance of safe driving and acknowledge th3e common mistakes other drivers make. Additionally, the driver’s education course made it extremely tedious when trying to pass a quiz without retaining the information. Before moving on to the next section, the website would lock the “next arrow” to ensure that students were actually reading the text, instead of just skimming through. Students were required to take mini quizzes at the end of each section to guarantee that they were ready to move onto the next section, and if they failed the website would have them retake the lesson until proved otherwise. One would not be able to fail the driver’s education course and go on to pass the permit test. The program is strictly designed to be difficult, in hopes that students will develop a strong understanding of the material and create a strong foundation of safe driving before on the road experiences. In all, driver education is a fairly significant course that introduces young teens to begin their driving journey and implements the correct knowledge necessary to pursue further training.

In addition to driver’s education, it is significant to implement other steps to ensure that we all practice safe driving and reduce the number of accident related deaths. Oftentimes, the most simple and practical rules of car safety may be the exact thing that saves your life or the life of another. Ensuring that all passengers and drivers wear their seatbelt when in a moving vehicle is a vital necessity when practicing safe driving. If one gets into a car accident and they are not wearing their seatbelt, the chances of their survival is less likely than someone who is wearing a seatbelt. Additionally, driving under the influence is a number one killer and one of the top factors that lead to car accidents. Something as simple as calling an Uber after having a few drinks or coordinating a designated driver can be the solution to preventing thousands of deaths a year. Additionally, having the patience to take your time and be cautious when driving is also an important factor in maintaining a safe environment. Engaging in risky, dangerous actions while driving because of being late could be the exact thing that costs you your life. Arriving late to a destination and explaining the situation is a much better alternative than leaving your friends and family behind forever as a result of a car accident. In order to ensure the safety of ourselves and others, it is absolutely necessary that we take such precautions to prevent fatal accidents from occurring and to set an example for the younger generation to follow.

Personally, I myself have not been involved in an accident before but my parents and sister unfortunately were extremely close to a fatal collision. On this particular day, my brother and I were away at a friend’s house and my family was on their way to pick us up. It was around 8:30 o’clock at night so it was dark outside. My family was driving upward on the street, as another vehicle was coming at a ridiculously fast speed from the other direction. Now, the vehicle was in a position where it was in my father’s blind spot and could not be seen from a far distance. Additionally, even though it was dark outside, the car did not have its headlights turned on so my father was unable to see it coming so quickly. Within seconds, the approaching vehicle was about to crash head to head with my father’s truck, however by the grace of God my father had the instinct of pulling to the next lane as quickly as possible. Thankfully, my father was able to avoid the accident and save their lives by just a matter of inches. This experience was truly terrifying and just the thought of losing my father, sister, and mother that day gives me an indescribable feeling. Knowing that one’s actions and irresponsible decisions can ultimately be the reason for the loss and grieving of another family is just terrible. Being the reason that someone does not have a dad anymore, a brother, a sister, a grandparent, a friend, whoever it may be, it is truly heartbreaking to think about. Hence, why driving safely and following all rules of the road is so critically important as a driver, as well as a passenger. We must make it a priority to become better and safer drivers in order to protect the lives of our loved ones. Beginning with our own actions, we must take the first initiative in approaching a safer, more attentive way of driving and making it a priority to put our safety first before engaging in dangerous behaviors.