Baron 2 Reagan Baron Dmv Edu Driver Education Initiative Award 09 July 2021 Eyes on the Road As more drivers begin their journey to becoming familiar and comfortable with traveling on the road, the importance of effective driver education is increasingly important in relation to decreasing the number of accidents that occur. Although many teens and young adults become better and confident in driving as they continue to practice, easy distractions like glancing at a text on a phone or tablet, continue to increase their risk of injury. This habit often leads to vehicle accidents, including some that result in fatal injuries, causing moderate to severe trauma for the driver in their future. So, to help this current and urgent problem, driver education should be improved to help driving students understand the severe consequences that come from not staying safe on the road. New strategies implemented into online driving courses could create a huge, positive change in the number of deaths recorded due to driving while distracted. For example, an increase in the incorporation of driving accident videos would inform driving students more greatly and change their mindset about how they are expected to act while driving on the road. Videos of instances where accidents and serious injuries have occurred due to distracted drivers could help students understand the seriousness of being distracted, even for a split second, that can change the way they live forever. One experience I can relate to is witnessing a car accident when driving home from school in the mid afternoon. The accident was minor and was due to a lack of stop signs and/or yield signals directed toward either driver, so the accident was unexpected on both ends. This event startled me because of the sudden impact, although not due to any distractions, just the lack of caution for both drivers. This accident has definitely taught me to continue to be very cautious when driving so that I keep myself and other drivers as safe as possible. By trying my best to follow general road signs and signals and reflecting back on what I learned during my driving education experience, I can be one of many drivers decreasing the death rate around the world due to distracted driving.