Drivers ed: a Mindset Change

Nowadays,
teenagers can apply for a driving permit as soon as they are sixteen
or seventeen years of age, and are allowed to hit the road first
thing after obtaining it. At first, this might seem like a blessing,
but upon closer inspection, it does seem like a huge problem to me.
Teenagers are still in the phase of personality development, some
might be irresponsible, others overly confident in their skills. This
is where Drivers ed comes in handy, since it equips drivers
with driving techniques along with basic vehicle maintenance, safety
precautions, and traffic regulations and laws, but most importantly
the set of morals necessary to practice safe driving.

Drivers
Education , now more than ever, is fundamental. Not only because it
provides the technical knowledge a driver needs, but also because it
stresses that driving is not a small matter. People have a tendency
to take their safety for granted while driving, it’s sort of like
the “no way it can happen to me of all people” mentality. That’s
why we see people eating, using their cellphone, and engaging in
heated arguments, all while driving. I get it, you’re a great
multitasker, you can do your homework, watch TV, eat pizza and still
have space left in your brain to think about what you’re going to
wear tomorrow, but if things go wrong, the most harm you can do is
either screw up your homework or choke on a piece of pepperoni,
whereas while driving you can actually kill someone, including
yourself.

Fortunately
for me, I’ve never been in a car accident, but I had lost a friend
to irresponsible driving. We used to attend the same school, he was
two years older than me and had a passion for motorbikes. One day he
was riding his motorbike and needed to cross a road, the traffic
light was red so he proceeded to cross when suddenly came a car at
top speed and hit him. He was send flying several meters away and his
head hit the concrete. The injury was so bad that they couldn’t
save him. In the end, it turned out that the car driver was so busy
quarreling with his wife that he didn’t pay attention to the
traffic light. The quarrel could’ve waited and my friend wouldn’t
have died. that’s why we need to promote Drivers ed since it
helps put drivers in the right mindset, and make them realize that
they’re carrying their lives, as well as other people’s lives, in
their hands.

In
the end, it all boils down to one thing. If we can make people aware
of the fragility of human lives, we’ll automatically decrease the
number of accidents resulting in deaths, and the road will be a safer
place for everyone. Accidents happen to anyone careless enough to
cause them, so in order to ensure maximum safety, we need to practice
mindful driving, and this is made easier by the availability of
Drivers ed, which helps open people’s eyes to how their
actions can impact themselves and others, either positively or
negatively, the choice is theirs.