SCREECH. It sounds like cat nails on a chalkboard, the type of sound that you can’t even think about without your ears hurting. I look around: the airbags are deployed, the blue Toyota Sienna is stuck in the middle of an intersection, and my aunt clutching her cheek. Then, dead silence. Not the silence we got during work time in second grade, but the involuntary silence, the kind that made you scared for the next sound. A man dressed in a brown jacket gets out of his tan coupe, observing the accident. My dad does the same. It’s still silent. We move our cars out of the intersection and wait on the side of the road for the police to show up. Back then, I thought, “Oh no, I might miss my swim meet.” Now, with my license, I think, “What if we were just 1 second earlier?” That second was the difference between life and death.
It’s no secret that operating 4000-pound vehicles that can go 100 MPH was never a safe idea. That’s why there are precautions, and not anyone can be on the road. However, it only takes 1 bad driver who passed their test to result in 2 people dead. Even though numerous drivers are capable of driving, there will always be drivers who are exhausted and unable to react. This puts the responsibility on other drivers. Bad driving comes from numerous factors, but steps can be taken. Stricter requirements to pass the driver’s test is one. A 15-minute test is not an adequate representation of participants’ driving. The test should be stricter, and the requirements to get there should be as well. The test should be retaken every few years, preventing those too old to be on the road. Another step forward would be to have more accessible driving academies to drive with (in the State of California) to gain the 30 hours necessary for driving with a permit. This opens doors for those with working parents, or those who simply don’t have the money to practice in a paid instructor car. My parents paid nearly $2000 for me to just learn to drive. How many people in America have this privilege? Not many. It wasn’t an easy fee for my parents either, but they would rather sacrifice a few pieces of paper if it meant their daughter came home every night. Driving academies provided by the state would make learning how to drive safer and more reliable, but most importantly, accessible.
Driver education plays a pivotal role in helping to lessen the number of people who will ever have to see the pale white of an airbag exploding toward them. Only 31 states enforce driver's education when in reality, it is the largest difference possible. In almost all states that don’t require this education, the requirement for a license is to have hours of “experience” on the road. The same road that others who have proven to be capable drivers are allowed to drive on. If you were put on an F1 racetrack, would you trust yourself to drive there? Would you trust that the other drivers would be safe while you learn how the car works? Driver's education is the bridge to being able to safely learn how to drive. Without it, we are unnecessarily causing premature accidents.
Lastly, my sister taught me one important thing about driving. “Sometimes, we have to be the bad driver.” Sometimes we need to make up for other people’s mistakes and be better drivers. To be safer on the road, it’s important to assess yourself and ensure that you are ready to be on the asphalt with almost 20 4000-pound vehicles waiting at the lights with you. Any of them could break the law at any second, and you would have to be prepared to slam the breaks or swerve away. For us to be safe drivers, we have to resist peer pressure to speed or to text while driving. Driver’s education within schools, even just a presentation, would help young drivers to understand how severe driving can be. Those who have the privilege of holding a license should properly know the risks and the expectations.
How many parents sit on a chair in their living room at 11 A.M., waiting for their teenager to come back home, only to get a phone call telling them their worst fear? Everyday? Around 8. Hundreds more get the call that their child was in an accident, and they breathe a sigh of relief because at least they aren’t dead. But what if their child was a second early, or a second late? A few seconds of reckless driving ruined an entire future. Stricter driving requirements have to be put in place, as well as more effective and widespread education. This problem can be easily solved, so why isn’t it?
It’s no secret that operating 4000-pound vehicles that can go 100 MPH was never a safe idea. That’s why there are precautions, and not anyone can be on the road. However, it only takes 1 bad driver who passed their test to result in 2 people dead. Even though numerous drivers are capable of driving, there will always be drivers who are exhausted and unable to react. This puts the responsibility on other drivers. Bad driving comes from numerous factors, but steps can be taken. Stricter requirements to pass the driver’s test is one. A 15-minute test is not an adequate representation of participants’ driving. The test should be stricter, and the requirements to get there should be as well. The test should be retaken every few years, preventing those too old to be on the road. Another step forward would be to have more accessible driving academies to drive with (in the State of California) to gain the 30 hours necessary for driving with a permit. This opens doors for those with working parents, or those who simply don’t have the money to practice in a paid instructor car. My parents paid nearly $2000 for me to just learn to drive. How many people in America have this privilege? Not many. It wasn’t an easy fee for my parents either, but they would rather sacrifice a few pieces of paper if it meant their daughter came home every night. Driving academies provided by the state would make learning how to drive safer and more reliable, but most importantly, accessible.
Driver education plays a pivotal role in helping to lessen the number of people who will ever have to see the pale white of an airbag exploding toward them. Only 31 states enforce driver's education when in reality, it is the largest difference possible. In almost all states that don’t require this education, the requirement for a license is to have hours of “experience” on the road. The same road that others who have proven to be capable drivers are allowed to drive on. If you were put on an F1 racetrack, would you trust yourself to drive there? Would you trust that the other drivers would be safe while you learn how the car works? Driver's education is the bridge to being able to safely learn how to drive. Without it, we are unnecessarily causing premature accidents.
Lastly, my sister taught me one important thing about driving. “Sometimes, we have to be the bad driver.” Sometimes we need to make up for other people’s mistakes and be better drivers. To be safer on the road, it’s important to assess yourself and ensure that you are ready to be on the asphalt with almost 20 4000-pound vehicles waiting at the lights with you. Any of them could break the law at any second, and you would have to be prepared to slam the breaks or swerve away. For us to be safe drivers, we have to resist peer pressure to speed or to text while driving. Driver’s education within schools, even just a presentation, would help young drivers to understand how severe driving can be. Those who have the privilege of holding a license should properly know the risks and the expectations.
How many parents sit on a chair in their living room at 11 A.M., waiting for their teenager to come back home, only to get a phone call telling them their worst fear? Everyday? Around 8. Hundreds more get the call that their child was in an accident, and they breathe a sigh of relief because at least they aren’t dead. But what if their child was a second early, or a second late? A few seconds of reckless driving ruined an entire future. Stricter driving requirements have to be put in place, as well as more effective and widespread education. This problem can be easily solved, so why isn’t it?
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