Driver Education Initiative – How do we effectively control a two-ton machine?

Rodney
Mitchell

27
November 2019

How
do we effectively control a two-ton machine?

I
hate driving. Something about the skid of a tire on a wet road or the
shake of a car on the interstate makes me anxious. It is hard to
convince myself to get in a vehicle after seeing YouTube
complications of “idiot drivers” and crashes; yet, I always do,
and I will always fear being in one of them, or worse, on the news.
Some people are thrilled by piloting a vehicle with the strength of a
hundred—maybe a thousand—horses. I cannot understand their
resolve. Vehicles can be terrifying with that much power.

I
am lucky to have never been in a crash, nor has anyone in my
immediate family been in a crash that involved serious injury.
However, I remember the death of a primary school classmate and more
recently the death of two of my sisters’ best friends on a local
highway. It was polarizing. My sisters were distraught, and my
friends mourned the victims’ deaths. It all happened very suddenly
for everyone. Because of this, I always worry about my family,
friends, and especially my girlfriend. Anytime they do not reply
promptly, my mind delves into the possibilities of what could have
happened—often I worry they were involved in an accident. This
feeling is vexing. Nonetheless, it cannot be simply eased and
millions of people across America must relate. I am not the only one
who wonders why anyone would decide to be irresponsible in their
two-ton machines; I am not the only one who wonders why so many
people die innocent in a cataclysm of metal and inertia.

Driver
education is invaluable.

I
was given my license with very little experience on my road. It was
perhaps my tenth time driving. Additionally, I passed my permit exam
on the first try—without studying anything about the road. This is
not okay. Most of the mistakes I made in my early phases of driving,
that I still make today, are due to my lack of knowledge for some
basic laws, sign meanings, or even lines on the road. Of course, I
cannot play the victim for driving while not knowing these things,
but who wouldn’t try to pass the permit and driving test without
studying if they could? If the tests were stricter, more demanding,
they may have forced me to study up and practice the law of the road.
I may not have made the mistakes I still make today due to a not
knowing what I do not know about the road. There will likely always
be a law that I never knew—that we all break—because of a poor,
uncompetitive testing system. If we all knew the laws—if we learned
etiquette and the do-nots—we may all be a little safer on the road,
and we may look to reduce the staggering death count on our roads.