The Blessing and Curse of Driver’s Education

When I was 15, my mom forced me to take a driver’s education class so I could get my permit and driver’s license in a timely manner. I thought driver’s education was unnecessary and a waste of time. I did not want to sit in a classroom and go over all the rules and regulations for being on the road when most drivers do not know the traffic rules and they get around just fine. My sister never took a driver’s ed course and she had been driving for three years without any accidents. But above everything else, I knew it was going to be awkward when I got my permit and I had to drive with random strangers for an hour during the driving lessons part of the program. I was mortified.

However, driver’s education turned out to be a lot more informative and useful than I could have ever imagined. Yes, the class was long and boring, but I learned some interesting facts from it, and they gave us a packet of everything that they look for on the permit test. I studied it for a few days, and I passed the test with flying colors. Next, I had to take the driving lessons that I was absolutely dreading. Again, it was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, but again, I learned many resourceful driving techniques that I still use to this day. Overall, I think driver’s education was a very helpful resource and well worth the money. When it came time for my driver’s test, it was another test I passed with flying colors.

Despite all these advantages I received for taking the driver’s education course, there is one life altering occurrence that comes from this course that is both a blessing and a curse. Because of my new knowledge for the road, I quickly began to see how many terrible drivers there are in the world, and some of those included my family. My mom tends to speed, merging at the last minute, and a failure to use her blinker. However, my sister is the most reckless above all. I never once paid attention to her driving while growing up. She got me from point A to point B in a timely manner, and I had no complaints. Now, I feel carsick every time I step inside her vehicle. From texting and driving, to awful road rage, my sister’s driving terrified me. To this day, I am in shock that she has never been in an accident before.

Thankfully, no one in my family has been in any car accidents and I began to write off their bad habits because they were all accident free. This was until I witnessed my first ever car accident two years ago. It occurred to the car directly in front of me due to them running a red light and getting severely hit on the passenger side of the car. They were not paying attention and thought it was their turn to go when in fact it was not. Luckily everyone involved had no injuries, but both cars seemed to be a lost cause.

To this day, I can see it clearly in my head and I can hear tires screeching and windows breaking. I fear ever being in that position, so I make sure to always be cautious when I am driving, especially if there is anyone else in the car with me. My sister was with me when the accident occurred, and it seemed to change her driving habits tremendously. She still has her moments of bad driving habits, but for the most part she has refrained from her usual curb hitting and texting while driving. I think we both learned some lessons that day, and it changed us for the better. Neither one of us wants to be part of a car accident, or even worse, part of the statistics of deaths from car accidents. Some helpful tips I implement on my daily commute are I put my phone on do not disturb when I am driving, I use hands-free device for my music, and I use a driving measurer from my insurance. I recommend the driving measurer to everyone I know because it gives you feedback on how to improve your driving, and it can lower your insurance rate when you implement the tips into your driving. While no one wants to hear that an average of 34,000 people die from car accidents in the United States, it is a scary yet necessary statistic to understand. Once we hear about the real dangers of something most of us do every day, it helps us find better ways to become safe drivers and lower that number.