Overall, driving has not been a very consistent factor throughout my life. In fact, it has been the inability to drive that has been delineating for me. Ever since my sophomore year, I’ve taken the 15-minute walk from my house to my school. Now, I don’t bring that up to sound like your grandparents and talk about how I had to walk 10 miles to school in the pouring rain while being chased by a pack of wolves. No, I bring that up to say that I have a great deal of experience being a pedestrian. And let me tell you, being a pedestrian in today’s society can be scary. I’ve been in many situations where someone has almost hit me because they were too busy on their phone or they weren’t aware of their surroundings. Similarly, though, there have been times when I’ve almost put myself in danger because I didn’t look both ways or overestimated how much time I had to cross the street. Luckily, I haven’t been hit yet; it’s easy for me to adjust to a driver who’s not paying attention and vice versa. However, it’s crazy to me that, on the off day that both a driver and I make a mistake, my life could be over.

And that is the reason why driver’s education is so important to me. Unsurprisingly, the act of driving is a two-way street. Sure, you want to keep yourself safe when driving, but you also want to make the roads safe for people around you. Thus, it is important to take driver’s education seriously. I see too many people my age talk about driver’s ed as if it is an inconvenience, just an obstacle to get past as quickly as possible in order to gain the freedom that comes with driving. While it’s nice to have the ability to go wherever you want whenever you want, it’s important that we young drivers know how to do so with the safety of those around us in mind. Every time you drive, you have a serious influence over multiple lives. A few weeks ago my dad wanted me to drive myself to work so I could get more practice behind the wheel. At the time, my mother, my father, and I were in the car. During that car ride, there was a point where I was driving next to this black Jeep. The driver signaled to change lanes and, without looking, almost turned into the car that my family was in. Fortunately, no contact was made, but that driver could have injured my whole family just because they weren’t paying attention. It just goes to show that driving gives you a lot of power.

I believe that one way to reduce the number of car accidents is to tighten the requirements necessary for getting a driver’s license. Thankfully, progress has already been made in this regard. My parents still tell me about how it was when they were kids: they showed up to a class, took a test, and got their license. Nowadays, we have TIP cards, learner’s permits, required amounts of practice, and many other regulations intended to keep us from putting the wrong people behind the wheel. However, I think more steps could be taken to ensure traffic safety as there are still uneducated drivers on the road. Take me for example: I have completed both my driver’s education class and my necessary lessons behind the wheel. I’m one test away from getting my license, but I’m not a good driver. I make mistakes, get stressed out, and still need practice with some of the essentials of driving. Despite this, like I said, there’s only one test between me and full freedom on the road. Thinking about the implications of that notion makes me nervous. How many other people are there in my situation? How many drivers are out there that don’t know what they’re doing, but were still able to get their license? Thus, I believe that there needs to be more requirements for eligible drivers. Sure, that may mean that people like me would not be able to get their licenses, but that is a small sacrifice when it comes to saving the tens of thousands of people who die from car accidents each year. Not to mention, a more difficult program would make new drivers more confident in their abilities considering the fact that they had to jump through more hoops to get their license.

While driver’s education plays a major part in road safety, there’s also a personal factor when it comes to driving safely. One way that I can become a safer driver is by getting more practice behind the wheel. As much as I enjoy the freedom that comes with driving, I’m not the best at it. And because I’m not good at it, I dislike doing it. Thus, I try to avoid driving as much as possible. However, because I avoid practicing the skills now, whenever I need to drive I will be doing so poorly and unsafely. My stubbornness will end up making the roads more dangerous for everyone around me. Instead, I need to just suck it up and get behind the wheel so that I can become a better driver.

In conclusion, driver’s education is essential for protecting not only drivers, but the people around them as well. Every time we find ourselves on the road, we have the lives of ourselves, pedestrians, passengers, and other drivers in our hands. Thus, we need to take every step we can in order to make the roads a better place. This includes paying attention to the lessons of driver’s ed, being aware of our surroundings when driving, potentially tightening the requirements needed to gain a license, and, most importantly, being as safe as possible anytime we shift our car out of park.