Continuing Education for Drivers

I started taking drivers ed immediately after my sixteenth birthday. I went in assuming I already knew a lot about driving but after the first week I realized there was a lot to learn. The class taught me everything from how to yield at a four way stop to what to do if an emergency vehicle approaches you. They even taught us how to jack up a car and change a tire. Once I received my permit I drove for the first time with the instructor, starting out slow in parking lots and neighborhoods and eventually working up to highways. When I first started learning I was a very timid driver who feared the day I would have to merge onto a busy highway but by the end of the course I was getting on and off I-35 with ease. I've known several classmates to get into car crashes, sometimes due to their own recklessness and sometimes due to others. My uncle got into a car accident last year and broke his arm after a car parked in the middle of a highway without hazards on. I have friends who drive with their knees so they can text and change the music and I have others that take turns at too high of speeds and drive through stop signs. I realize that my judgement is also sometimes flawed and I'm not a perfect driver. I believe that a refresh of the consequences of reckless driving as well as the laws put into place to keep us safe would benefit us all greatly. Drivers ed teaches you the correct reaction to certain driving situations and gives you the knowledge to decide the right thing to do in others. Of course after ten years these scenarios may become fuzzy and your judgement can become flawed. Incorrect yielding can result in a serious crash and driving too closely can cause you to rear end the car in front. These are all lessons we've learned in drivers ed but they're often lessons we forget. Driver's license renewal doesn't require any tests to be taken or any material to be refreshed. I believe that before going to renew your license you should have to go through a learning module online to relearn information you may have forgotten along with a quiz at the end to ensure you've retained the knowledge. The Department of Motor Vehicles can look at the most common cause of crashes within the last five years and be sure to include that information on the modules and quiz. This could be a quick, easy, and relatively cost effective way to ensure people remember all driving laws, especially those that may prevent fatal crashes. Many jobs require continuing education, especially those involving the lives of other people. Getting behind the wheel puts other's lives at risk and should be treated just the same.