Two years ago, my dad was driving back from a family member’s funeral when he saw a pick-up truck through the passenger window veering toward him across the lanes on a busy highway. He drove into the left shoulder and started slowing down anticipating being hit by that truck, and sure enough, the truck smashed his SUV against the concrete barriers. That truck and another car with a pregnant lady flipped over. She had to crawl out of her car to get out of it. My dad remembered being very worried about her and hoping she was all right. Things could have gone so much worse, but amazingly nobody was harmed. Still, it was such a huge accident that it made the news and added to vehicle accident statistics. It was a frightening event for everyone involved, and hopefully the one who caused the accident learned a lesson from it and shared it with others.
This is why Driver’s Education is so important for everyone to take—sharing statistics of horrible things that happen when people do not drive safely, so new drivers recognize how common accidents really are and don’t take chances with risky driving. Otherwise, they could end up flipping over on a highway like the driver that hit my dad or much worse. Like my dad, people need to always be looking around the road including in their peripheral. I don’t know how many times I had to stop because someone was impatient and drove right in front of me when I had the right of way. Driver’s Education warned me about bad drivers and needing to constantly be on the lookout. My Driver’s Education teacher taught me not to only be a good driver but a defensive driver who is prepared for the worst. If my dad was not paying attention and acting after he saw the veering truck, he would not have gotten as far away from the car as he could or been able to slow down to lessen the blow. He might not be sitting feet away from me right now, and what a scary thought that is.
Driver’s Education also teaches to not engage with road ragers by looking at them or honking back at them. I’ve had people rev their engines at me and honk at me because I was driving the speed limit, and they were impatient even when I had “Student Driver” magnets on my car. Honking back would just add more stress and create a dangerous mindset to be driving in. According to studies, 54% of fatal accidents are caused by aggressive driving, which is why we were taught to never drive when emotions are running high and take deep breaths to calm down. I honestly never thought of that before until I heard it in Driver’s Education, but it makes complete sense.
It is also important to maintain a safe following distance to give yourself time to react to poor drivers who slam on their brakes (or for out of the ordinary situations). Tailgating is the most common cause of accidents according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This was such a disappointing fact because many of those accidents could have been avoided if people had more patience. I also learned that the distance you leave between the car in front of you and your car is dependent on the weather conditions, your own reaction time, and what speed you are going. If you are on a highway, you’ll need more time to slow down. There are so many different scenarios to think about when driving, so the required practice driving with a parent or guardian to get your Driver’s License is important. Each time I drive, I run into a new situation to learn from. It becomes easier to react safely over time, but I always need to be on alert.
Although going to Driver’s Education might seem like an inconvenience to squeeze in, it is very important in the long run for everyone’s safety on the road. From highways to neighborhood streets, you must always be conscious about what is going on around you and how to handle those unique scenarios because as my Driver’s Education teacher said, “Things can change in a matter of mere seconds.” I’ll give an example of a good driver who reacted quickly…My brother and I were riding our bikes a few years ago and made the careless mistake of not looking both ways before crossing a 35 miles per hour road. A driver on the road was thankfully paying attention and quickly pressed down on the brakes. It was a scary experience for us, and I’m sure for the driver as well, but it gave me a real-world example of what to look out for as a driver and a biker. In Driver’s Education classes, we watched interviews with people that either were the victims in a car crash and were not able to walk again because of it or were the people responsible for the crash. The person guilty of starting the accident normally was either under the influence or being a careless driver (not paying attention, texting on the phone, etc.) If you are driving a four-thousand-pound death machine, you need to realize what the consequences could be and how high the stakes are. The gruesome pictures shown of accidents were proof enough. It was hard to look at those photos and see the family members talking about their lives before the accident but very important for recognizing what could happen if you do just a quick glance at a text message. Overall, Driver’s Education is key for a safer road and is necessary for the safety of you and those around you.