By the time teens hit 16 all they think about is their exciting new freedom, a drivers license . Every teen thinks they are a pro when they get their licenses, but the truth is their not. People feeling that they don’t need any driving lessons or further education is extremely dangerous. As a driver myself I know there is nothing I can do from other driving making mistakes and carelessly driving, but I can educate myself on how to avoid accidents and drive safely for others on the road, including myself. Educating yourself right away with defensive driving and driving safely is extremely important. People nowadays get their license way too easy, leading to an increase in accidents and deaths. I think not only should people take a more complex drivers test but as well be required to take driving lessons ahead of their tests.
My experience of going through the Arizona DMV drivers test was extremely easy. My test consisted of parking in any spot, driving for a while around the block, and a quick test on car functions and signals. Coming out of my test I thought I knew everything I needed too but I was wrong. I did not fully understand defensive driving and I was not prepared to drive where other drivers are not following the rules of the road. It was only after my brother and I got into a car accident that I truly understood that there is more to driving then just knowing the rules, it comes with experience. My brother was driving and a tow truck decided to make a u turn on a yellow light when we had a green light. My brother ended up T boning into the tow truck, and our new car was totaled. Lucky we were not hurt but the trauma of the car accident took months to ware off. It opened my eyes to how my friends drove as well. My friends drove like they were invincible and they thought that they were the most amazing drivers. Ego caught up to them eventually and about 90 percent of my friends got into an accident their first few years of driving. The friends who didn’t get into an accident still drive reckless and feel they are invincible. I think teens can learn how to drive in a more experienced way other than getting in an accident and learning their lesson the hard way.
There will always be not the greatest drivers on the road, I think the steps we need to take is teaching our young drivers right away defensive driving. I should not have been able to pass my drivers test so easily. The drivers test should be way more in depth. The test should at least involve worst case scenarios and what to do, as well as teach kids what to do in case of an accident. Another step we can take to create more educated drivers, is require driving lessons including how to defensively drive. Experience is everything when it comes to driving, but how can we expect new drivers to safely drive when they have no experience. Driving with your permit and a parent in the car is nothing compared to driving on your own. I was completely unprepared to driving on my own when I first got my license. Taking these steps we can better prepare young drivers getting their license how to avoid accidents and drive smarter. I believe adding these steps will decrease the amount of accidents that happen each year and deaths by accidents.
We use our cars multiple times a day increasing our chances of getting into an accident each day. I hope one day we can live in a world where we don’t have to worry about our loved ones getting in an accident each day, but for now all we can do is educate drivers. My brother and I’s accident could’ve been a lot worse, but thankfully it wasn’t. Two kids in my high school this year lost their life’s to uneducated drivers, two kids who had their whole future ahead of them. My goal is for no family to go through a loss like that, when it could’ve been preventable. I myself can also work to improve my driving by reeducating myself with driver courses each year as well as being more aware of my surroundings on the road. I don’t think new drivers will feel they need to take the defensive driving courses if they are not required to. I feel if the DMV takes in consider of requiring more drivers to do more in depth tests and defensive driving lessons, they will start to see a decrease in accidents and deaths by car accidents.