A Teenage Perspective of Driver Education and Safety

I just began driving not too long ago, so safety is something I am still very concerned with. Luckily, I live in a state with relatively few teen driver fatalities. It is estimated that in New Jersey, there are about 0.58 teen driver fatalities per 10,000 licensed teen drivers per year. Compare this to West Virginia, a state that does not require driver education courses for young drivers, with about 2.2 teen driver fatalities per 10,000 licensed teen drivers per year. These statistics support the importance of driver education in reducing the number of teen fatalities due to driving. I feel safer after having taken a required driver education course through my high school, but I know very well that I am not entirely prepared for dangerous scenarios on the road. This may be a result of my being young and inexperienced when it comes to driving. However, the more I drive, the more I realize that I need to be aware of whether or not those I share the road with drive responsibly as well.

One thing that has stuck in my mind is a very personal story about how a seventeen-year-old girl lost her life as a result of reckless and unsafe driving. She was the same age as I am now and she attended a neighboring high school. This girl was a passenger in a car that was rented for prom weekend. Her friend was driving at about 118 miles per hour on a road with a speed limit of forty miles per hour when the car went off the road and into the woods. She was pronounced dead at the scene. This story has served as a reminder within my community that responsible driving is the only way to prevent death as a result of driving. Just as the shock of this tragic story began to wear off, a senior from my high school lost his life in another fatal car accident. He would have graduated just one week later.

These heartbreaking stories are the reason why driver education should be taken much more seriously. It should not be just a course to pass a written exam to get your license. In the story of the seventeen-year-old girl, not only was the driver excessively speeding but there were also too many passengers in the car, violating a local law. The law was enacted after a similar situation and it limits the number of passengers to one in vehicles driven by minors. Whether or not the driver was aware of this law is unknown. Had the law been followed, it would not have come to pass that three teens were severely injured and one was dead. The student from my high school was also believed to have been violating the time restrictions for young drivers at the time of his accident.

It is my opinion that drivers should participate in defensive driving courses in addition to driver education courses to reinforce their knowledge of how to drive responsibly and how to react safely to less than ideal situations while driving. These courses also stress the importance of not being distracted while driving. There have been several times where I have witnessed my friends and peers being distracted while driving, even while just in our high school student parking lot. Whether it is cellular devices, music, or passengers, I have seen it all. It truly concerns me that young, inexperienced drivers are already creating the dangerous habit of distracted driving. I am doing the best I can to set an example for my peers and my younger sister to follow by obeying restrictions on my probationary license, as well as never using cellular devices while I am driving. For another example, my area falls victim to snow and ice in the winter and heavy wind and rain in the spring. Yet if you asked drivers in this area how they should respond if they begin to lose traction, many would not be able to provide an answer. These simple examples show how a defensive driving course teaching responsible driving and safe habits will contribute to more safe and responsible drivers on the road.

In conclusion, I believe that driver education has a big impact on protecting those on the road. Defensive driving courses can prepare drivers to react in safe ways to a potentially dangerous situation. In addition, the course should reemphasize the importance of avoiding distractions while driving a vehicle. I believe driver education courses should be taken periodically to refresh the memory of many drivers regarding laws, regulations, and rules of the road. It is not enough for just me to drive safely and responsibly. As more people take these courses, more drivers will be prepared to respond to dangerous situations in ways that do not lead to fatalities. In this way, we can all reduce the number of deaths related to driving.