Proper Driving Etiquette

One of the many things that teenagers are looking forward to when growing up is being able to drive around and go to wherever they please by themselves. I myself have obtained my driving license and have been able to enjoy driving without having to listen to my parent’s tiresome music that makes me feel as if I’m already reaching my 50s. However, as fun as driving can be, the responsibility that comes with driving should not be taken lightly. Amongst teenagers from ages 15 to 20, their leading cause of death is auto accidents. In fact, the largest percentage of distracted drivers comes from drivers under the age of 20. In order to be able to reduce the number of deaths cause by driving accidents, then driving training should be encouraged more, adults will have to set a better example for teenagers, and people should improve their driving by ditching distractions.

Education on driving is quite important, especially if we want to prevent as many car accidents as possible. Driving training is important as it helps people, especially teenagers, who are just getting started on driving are able to learn the basis of it and be able to identify their mistakes. “Driving training also helps eliminate bad driving behaviors such as drunk driving, using mobile devices, lack of sleep, etc.” (Lendrum). This shows how teenagers are capable of learning from other people’s mistakes and lower their chances of getting into a car accident by taking driving lessons. Encouraging driving lessons and physical practice with supervision from an educated adult is a great way to reduce the number of deaths and accidents cause by driving. Although some people don’t feel like driving training should go further than the basics because they think that there aren’t many things to learn when it comes to driving, this would be untruthful. Not only does someone need to know how to control a vehicle in order to be on the road, but they also have to learn about traffic laws, rights of pedestrians, the responsibilities of a driver, and many other things.

Adults play a major role in the perception a teenager has on driving education. I’ve been fortunate enough to not have experience any severe car accidents in my life. However, I have had many friends and relatives who have gotten life threating injuries due to a car accident. A significant amount of these accidents occur because the driver did not take driving as seriously as they should have. This is partly because the adults in these people’s lives were not good influences on them when it comes to driving. Many of my friends’ parents would let their kids go out driving by themselves with very little driving knowledge and experience. It is not inherently a bad thing to have trust in your kid that they know what they are doing, but letting them go out with barely any practice is not a responsible thing to do, especially for an adult. Some parents only have a few practice drives with their kid in order for them to feel safe about them; however, this is not nearly enough and does not compare to proper driving lessons and training.

Taking driving classes and training are great for helping improve someone’s driving skills. However, I think that there is another technique that is not utilized as much for driving that can make people feel safer while on the road. This technique is called “commentary driving” and it involves the driver describing what they see and do while driving. “If you’ve been driving a while learning to do a commentary drive will improve your skills and reduce your likelihood of having an accident” (Cottingham). These strategy helps the driver to not lose focus on the road and be able to identify approaching vehicles, any changes to the road, clearly spot pedestrians, be able to adjust their speed correctly, etc. This is especially great for teenagers who may are starting to learn how to drive because it helps them to not be distracted or space out while driving. Some people may not think this could help as much, but this strategy is actually recommended by driving instructors.

Driving is something that almost every teenager looks forward to and in today’s world, it is almost a necessity to learn how to drive. However, due to the lack of proper driving training, poor influence from adults, and ignorance about driving techniques to reduce distractions, a lot of teenagers experience car accidents. People have to be more responsible and further encourage the importance of driving education in order for the number of accidents and deaths cause by driving to lower in the upcoming years.

Work Cited

Cottingham, Darren. “Improving your driving skills by learning to do commentary drives” Driver Knowledge Tests, N.D,

https://www.driverknowledgetests.com/resources/improving-your-driving-skills-by-learning-to-do-commentary-drives/.

Date accessed 31 March 2021.

Lendrum, John. “The Importance of Driving Training and Why More People Should Do it” Lendrum’s Driving School, 23 March 2018,

https://www.lendrums-driving-school.co.uk/the-importance-of-driving-training-and-why-more-people-should-do-it/.

Date accessed 31 March 2021.

“Teen Driver Car Accident Statistics” Edgar Snyder & Associates, N.D,

https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/who-was-injured/teen/teen-driving-statistics.html.

Date Accessed 31 March 2021.