How Drivers ED teaches students how to drive safely and properly, and what to expect when driving.

The importance of drivers ED is to teach students how to drive properly, follow driving laws, respect other drivers, and how to take care of their car. That’s because young drivers are at more risk of crashing or receiving a traffic ticket from police officers. According to the Newsroom.unl, they say that young drivers who don’t take drivers ED are 75% more likely to receive a traffic ticket, 24% more likely to be involved in a fatal accident, and 16% more likely to have an accident.

There are several steps to obtaining a driver’s license. You must complete the classroom portion, take the DMV written exam, sign test, eye test, do a behind-the-wheel training, and a road test. Plus, young drivers assume that once they turn 16, they can drive, but that’s not true. According to an article from verywellfamily.com, they say that teenagers’ brain at 16 hasn’t been fully developed thus they are more likely to make more mistakes, become distracted or take risks. Taking the DMV requires students to receive a score of 80% or above to pass the exam. Students need 30 hours of instruction and an eye exam, the wheel training also requires 6 hours.

The simple steps to reduce the number of deaths related to driving are obeying traffic laws, being predictable, avoiding distractions (e.g. phone, spacing out, music, backseat passengers, etc.), driving rested, and steering clear of alcohol and drugs (even a single drop of alcohol is enough to intoxicate you!).

I have not seen anyone in my family or my friends experience accidents due to driving irresponsibly. They have been driving for years, so they are fluent enough. Because of their super proficient driving skills, it’s unlikely that they will get into a car accident as long as they are fully aware of their surroundings and unexpected things.

A safety driver considers these diving tips such as: Thinking safety first, Being aware of your surroundings (paying attention is important!), don’t rely on other drivers as they will NEVER help you out, monitoring your speed, and don’t go too slow or too fast, have an escape route in case of an emergency, separate risks, and cut out distractions. The reason why paying attention is the number one safety consideration is because driving a car is a risky thing. If you assume that just because you look at your car mirrors, blind spots, traffic behavior, and where you’re going means that nothing bad can happen, you’re wrong. It’s not a matter of looking everywhere, and while you should do that, it’s a matter of expecting the unexpected. Cars will suddenly shift lanes in front of you or next to you, they suddenly make U-turns over single or double solid lines, they suddenly back up without warning, they turn without a turn signal, etc.

Driver’s ED will teach students that having a cell phone while driving is ILLEGAL under the age of 18 unless there’s an emergency like parent calls. Also, it’s common that you should never text and drive at the same time. According to a statistical report from edgarsnyder.com, they say that there are 1.6 million crashes per year, 390,000 injuries from accidents, and ¼ of every car accident is caused by texting and driving. It also increases the chances of crashing immensely by 6x, it’s way higher than driving drunk. Drinking drunk is another thing that Driver’s ED always addresses because alcohol can seriously affect driving ability. Nhtsa.gov says that at a BAC of .08 grams of alcohol, they increase blood pressure, and crash risk. Plus, it’s illegal in all 50 states, so it’s not worth the risk to drink driving. “BAC is measured with a breathalyzer that measures the amount of alcohol in a driver’s breath, or by a blood test”, this is a way how officers can tell if you’re drunk. Another thing is that drivers under 18 shouldn’t have more than 1 non-household passenger, because if you have more than 1 non-household passenger in your car, they will challenge to do stupid things. That applies to gained driving hours since you must have a parent with you.

Overall, Driver’s ED is a great way to help those young drivers reduce the risk of car accidents and deaths. They teach students how to not be stupid and take risks. I think in the future, there will be fewer car accidents which will cause fewer traffic jams. This program will also make students more mature to realize that driving is a dangerous activity despite it being important for going to work. It’s a long process and it takes several few years to get the hang of driving and obtain a driver’s license.

Works Cited:

Neb, Lincoln. “Study: Driver’s Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets | News Releases | University Of Nebraska-Lincoln”. Newsroom.Unl.Edu, 2015, https://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study:+Driver%27s+ed+significantly+reduces+teen+crashes,+tickets#:~:text=Young%20drivers%20who%20have%20not,an%20accident%2C%20the%20study%20showed.

“6 Ways To Avoid A Car Accident Simple Steps To Stay Out Of Trouble”. Www.Consumerreports.Org, 2015, https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2015/04/6-ways-to-avoid-a-car-accident/index.htm#:~:text=There%20are%20simple%20steps%20that,the%20roads%20safer%20for%20all.

Gray, Kurt. E. “The Keys To Defensive Driving (For Teens) – Nemours Kidshealth”. Kidshealth.Org, 2016, https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/driving-safety.html.

Administration, National. “Drunk Driving | NHTSA”. NHTSA, 2022, https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.

“Official NCDMV: Driver Education Courses”. Ncdot.Gov, https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/license-id/driver-licenses/new-drivers/Pages/driver-education.aspx#:~:text=A%20birth%20certificate%20or%20passport,six%20hours%20behind%20the%20wheel.