As the months passed, I was getting more and more excited about obtaining a driver’s license. I felt as though I was ready, I took the driver’s ed class in high school and I had been practicing driving daily with my parents. However, four months prior to getting my license my excitement turned to nervousness. It was a typical night in the winter, I had just left our high school’s wrestling match, and I was driving home with my mom and sister. For some odd reason I decided not to drive home but to sit in the back seat. At a certain point on the way home we were patiently waiting for incoming traffic to pass to make a left turn. In what felt like out of nowhere we were hit from behind from another car. Our car luckily wasn’t pushed into oncoming traffic but rather pushed across our side of the road. My mother was in panic mode to make sure we were all okay, my sister crying over her head hurting and my back was in pain. As we checked on each other we all looked back to see who hit us and it was a student I went to school with, one of the wrestlers from the match we had just left. As the ambulances and police came my mom also went to check on the other driver. We were all extremely lucky to have walked away ok, my sister with a concussion and myself with a bruised back, but overall, we were all very lucky. Both cars were totaled. When the police came back to talk with my mother and us, he explained that the driver admitted to looking down at his phone and didn’t realize there was a car he was approaching. It was at that moment that I realized what my parents had been telling me for some time now, “it’s not just you I worry about but what other driver’s do as well.”
Driver’s education class in school provided an abundant amount of information to better prepare me for the rules and regulations before getting behind the wheel. In today’s world where technology seems to be our way of life, drivers ed focuses time on how to remove those distractions while staying focused on the road. The class also provides new drivers with the ability to see real life situations and discuss how to handle situations as well as think about how different decisions could have changed the outcome. Although many may believe that the practice behind the wheel is what’s most important, knowing the rules and being able to ask questions prior to getting behind the wheel provides knowledge. In any situation, knowledge is power.  The experience individuals receive through driver education classes is beyond valuable to all new drivers.
I am currently taking a class called LIFE. It's a class for seniors that allows us to mentor other students on tough topics. Although we talk about many difficult topics, one topic close to my heart is making good decisions behind the wheel. Students today hear a lot of information from adults and although all of what is being said is important, at times hearing information from your own peers just feels different. I believe that if other schools created peer-to-peer programs to talk about experiences such as driving and the lessons they have learned and incidents they have observed it may hit a little close to home with other young adults. Conversation is key to improving driver education. If young adults feel comfortable talking about situations behind the wheel prior to experiencing them firsthand they can make more informative decisions when driving.
Cars have been improving each year with safety features. As these improvements continue, I believe that more cars should have these new safety features standard in all cars. Features such as lane assist, anti-lock brake when getting too close to another car and continued improvement to car play all can help save lives. As drivers we should be alert and aware of what is going on around us while on the road, however we cannot control everything around us. And better standard features in cars give just a little more assistance for those on the road, which in return can possibly save a life on the road. As my parents said before, “it's just you I’m worried about, but others driving around you.” Knowledge is power in making better decisions, but improved standard features can also save the lives of those driving and others driving around us. As a community we need to always remember to drive safely today to see tomorrow.