You Need Driver’s Ed

Kids these days don’t take driver education seriously. Many adults seem to have either forgotten or decided to completely neglect the rules of the road.

These are the most important rules of the road:

Don’t drink and drive.

Don’t text and drive.

Don’t eat and drive.

Don’t do anything that takes your attention away from the road.

It only takes a second of distraction to get into a car accident. That time you took to glance down at your phone, or eat that last bite of lunch could make the difference between life and death. Getting behind the wheel intoxicated is a recipe for disaster. You could not only end up hurting yourself, but anyone else who happens to be driving near you.

Driving is the most fatal activity for people in the United States. If 34,000 people die each year from car accidents, some things needs to change.

Driver education is a simple, straightforward class that every teenager must take before getting a license. Of course, if everyone simply abided by the rules, the number of car accidents would be drastically decreased. That said, the best way to reduce the number of traffic related deaths is to increase awareness for the importance of driver education. Accidents still happen, but there are always ways to limit the frequency of them.

In my high school, we had a school wide game of Assasins every spring (students would try to shoot each other with water guns to eliminate each other and the last ones standing won). It wasn’t mandatory, but a lot of people I knew participated and it was all anyone could talk about for weeks. The problem with this game was that it occurred off campus, typically while students were driving to and from school, practice, or work. I remember hearing some crazy stories involving car chases and blocking people in. Inevitably, accidents were bound to happen with all these teenagers driving around recklessly.

The scariest one was while all the students were on their way home from school. There’s a big bridge that separates the school from the homes. At the very end, there’s a section for cars to cross over with a stop sign only for one side. Everyone tends to speed over it. With Assassins going on, people were speeding over it even faster than normal. There were four cars in a line, and the first didn’t see a car crossing over the bridge until the last second. They skidded out of the way, but the students behind didn’t have enough time to stop, and there was a big collision right at the end of the bridge. Luckily no one was hurt badly, but there was extensive car damage and standstill traffic lined up so no one could get out of the school. This could have been easily avoided by following safe driving rules.

I joined a group of students that helped create a new set of rules to prohibit people playing Assassins while driving. Students wouldn’t be able to chase each other in cars, and the game had to occur on foot. The next year, these rules were put in place, and there were no more driving incidents that were Assassins-related.

Still, accidents occur every year even when people are not taking place in car chases. Students need to know the importance of safe driving and how to properly execute safety measures.

First off, diligence is essential in being a good driver. Always pay attention to the road, everything else can wait for later. It’s probably best to turn your phone to Do Not Disturb while driving. Next, don’t be a lazy driver. Use turn signals, sit in an attentive position at the wheel, look both ways before turning, and make full stops at stop signs. Furthermore, always check to be sure that all passengers are safe and in check before starting to drive. Be sure everyone has their seatbelts on and will not be a distraction to the driver. Last of all, know the rules of the road. Pay attention during driver education classes. This is the most important tool to making sure you are on the same page as everyone else on the road and it can be extremely useful in reducing accidents if people know what the rules are.

Many cars these days have a lot of useful features to make driving even more safe. Reverse cameras, anti-lock breaks, parking assist, merging assist, break assist, blind-spot warning, adaptive cruise control, and pedestrian detection are all innovative additions to cars that can help reduce car accidents as well. If economically feasible, try opting for a car with as many of these features as possible. But, be sure to continue using safe driving practices. Even with helpful additions such as merging assist, it’s still essential to look before switching lanes. It is always better to be safe rather than sorry, especially when it comes to driving.

It’s also important to note that the age groups with the most driving accidents are young drivers and older drivers. With regards to younger drivers, many of these can be prevented by paying close attention to driver’s education and putting the rules into practice. Young drivers should not put themselves in situations where they can get stressed out and make mistakes. Putting a sticker on the back of the car that says “student driver” can let cars around know to be careful and patient. Additionally, new drivers should practice making right turns only until they feel comfortable enough to cross traffic.

There are many tips that student drivers can use to become safe and educated drivers. Most of them can be found in driver education. But it’s important for everyone to be aware and knowledgeable about rules regarding driving. Some adults could probably use to retake driver education courses. Maybe it would even help if there was mandatory driver re-education every certain amount of years. If everyone takes driver education seriously and promotes driver safety, we can make a difference by reducing the number of tragedies that occur every day on the road.