While Driver’s Education may not be the most exciting class for aspiring drivers, it’s crucial to learning the rules of the road. Many young drivers watch their parents drive, and that’s how they learn some of the crucial elements such as stop signs and red lights. But to learn about how to control the car safely, the laws around what to and what not to do while driving, and how to share the road with other cars are skills that only Driver’s education can teach aspiring drivers. The other issue with learning from those that have been driving for years, or decades, is that often they may not know the current rules, or may not adhere to them correctly.
Driver’s Education also plays a vital role in highlighting the severe consequences of reckless driving. Research consistently shows that newer, and younger drivers are statistically more likely to be involved in major accidents. One step that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths is reducing distracted driving. Despite the illegality of texting while driving, many still engage in this dangerous practice. Driver’s Education really drills the dangers of distracted and reckless driving, helping to shift more people away from using their devices. My instructor talked to us about hiding the phone, enabling do not disturb, and encouraging several steps that not everyone will adopt, but the more it is taught, the larger the culture shift that can be accomplished.
I’ve been in one major accident, where I was very fortunate not to be seriously injured or killed. I was driving back on Christmas Eve from visiting my cousins. It was about an hour-long drive back home, and after about a half hour of driving right around midnight on Route 83 a deer that had successfully crossed the other side of the highway jumped over the guard rail running right in front of my car while I was traveling at a high rate of speed. The image of the deer tumbling down the road in front of me after colliding with the car will forever be engrained in my memory. I was pretty panicked, and my dad who was with me in the passenger guided me on slowing the car down and getting off the road onto the shoulder. Had the deer hit slightly differently on the car, it could have easily rolled up the hood and killed us. The damage was pretty bad, and as of the date of writing this essay we still do not have the car back, and no expected date on when we will. For me, this was an eye-opening experience that changed how I approach my driving. I was never aggressive, and I wasn’t on my phone or doing anything to distract me, but I realized how, at any moment, anything can happen.
I am now incredibly diligent about avoiding distractions to give myself the best possible chance of seeing any issue in time to avoid it when possible. I automated features like Apple’s, “Do Not Disturb while driving” feature so it turns on every time I plug in. I set my music and maps while parked and try never to take phone calls or adjust things on the screen anymore. I also need to be better about driving closer to the speed limit. I don’t know a single driver I talk to who goes exactly the speed limit, but I know I could get closer to the speed limit instead of driving between seven and ten miles over the limit. Those extra few miles per hour aren’t going to save me that much time If I’m in a rush, but could give me a crucial second to react and avoid or minimize an accident, and potentially save my life or someone else's. For this same reason, I now go back to what I learned during my Driver’s Education about how to keep a safe driving distance, something that I had stopped doing the more I drove since most drivers follow much closer than they should. Lastly, I can work on turning my music down when I drive. Loud music never helps with focus, and as much as I love driving on warm days with the windows down and the music loud, that doesn’t help me focus on driving. I want others to understand the value of what is taught in Driver’s Education so that others don’t need to have a potentially fatal accident before learning that lesson.