Driver’s Education: a Necessity for Road Safety

Erica Richter

Driver’s Education Essay Contest

31 December, 2019

Driver’s Education: a Necessity for Road Safety

The car growled as my grip on the door handle tightened. The speedometer crept up increment by increment. Sixty. “Haha, what if there’s a cop up here?” Seventy. “Seriously dude, it’s forty-five here.” Eighty. “This isn’t funny” Ninety. “Oh my God, slow down!” My face flushes red with fear as we barrel down the road. “Chill out,” my friend says, “I’m a great driver.” The idea that one is a great driver and having a false sense of safety is a result of inexperience and often has dire consequences. Drivers ed courses play a vital role in reducing the number of fatal car crashes and should be made mandatory for getting a license.

Driver’s education is important in reducing the number of driving fatalities because it has been proven to lower the number of accidents. According to Jackie Kass, the marketing manager at Drive Smart Georgia, “95% of all car crashes are caused by driver error” (Kass). If 95% of crashes are caused by human error, then many car accidents could be prevented if drivers were more skilled. This means that many deaths could be avoided by providing better training for drivers. A study done by the University of Nebraska - Lincoln found that people who obtain a license without taking drivers ed “are 24% more likely to be involved in a fatal accident” (Reed). Participation in a drivers ed course and the likelihood of being involved in a fatal accident are inversely related, so driver’s education courses are a large factor in reducing car accident fatalities.

To reduce the number of driving deaths, drivers ed courses should be mandatory for receiving a license. The AAA Foundation’s Driver Safety Program found that drivers ed reduces crashes by 4.3% (Edmonds). When drivers are taught by trained professionals, they are equipped with tactics like scanning, defensive driving, and crash prevention techniques. These techniques help drivers avoid collisions, which reduces overall crash rates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that “12% of teen car crashes are not related to recklessness, but simple inexperience” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Drivers ed courses often include mandatory supervised driving hours, which allow people to gain experience behind the wheel with the protection of a trained supervisor. By letting drivers develop their driving skills in a controlled environment, they gain crucial road awareness. Making drivers ed a prerequisite for licensure means more people will enter the roadways as well-equipped drivers, in turn reducing the overall crash rates.

Driver’s education is necessary to minimize the number of fatal car crashes, and anyone who wants a driver’s license should be required to take it. The situation I mentioned earlier ended with no injuries, but many are not so lucky. Driving is inherently dangerous, but drivers ed serves to make it safer. Everyone should take the responsibility to enroll in a drivers ed course before getting behind the wheel to be a safer driver.

Works Cited

“Back to (Driving) School: More Crashes and Convictions for Teens That Skip Driver Ed.” AAA NewsRoom, AAA, 29 Jan. 2015, https://newsroom.aaa.com/2014/09/back-driving-school-crashes-convictions-teens-skip-driver-ed/.

Kass, Jackie. “Concerned about Teen Driver Safety? Drivers Ed Reduces Crash Risk.” Drive Smart Georgia, Drive Smart Georgia, LLC, 10 Oct. 2017,

Reed, Leslie. “Study: Drivers Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets.” Study: Drivers Ed Significantly Reduces Teen Crashes, Tickets | Nebraska Today | University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 13 Aug. 2015, https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoday/article/study-driver-s-ed-significantly-reduces-teen-crashes-tickets/.

“Road Safety Facts.” Association for Safe International Road Travel, ASIRT, 2019, https://www.asirt.org/safe-travel/road-safety-facts/.

“Teen Drivers: Get the Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Oct. 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html.