The Importance of Driver's Education for Teens
The Importance of Driver’s Education and Safety: How teens can improve on it.
It turns out that every year, around 1.19 million people end up getting badly injured or dying due to car and road accidents. This could be caused by a car hitting someone while driving, or vehicles hitting other vehicles on the road. Another reason for people getting very injured or possibly killed in road accidents is due to the fact that the driver might have been distracted by something. It is common knowledge that knowing how to drive and how the road works is necessary before actually going on it. However, for teens, it is much harder to do so due to many factors. In fact, teenagers get in more car accidents than grown adults. But, why does this happen, and what can we do to make sure that all teens follow the same rule for driving?
It is very common for people in their teenage years to learn how to drive. This is because most teenagers will need to drive to and from school everyday, and will also need to drive to their workplace (if they have a job) when necessary. It is also better to learn earlier than later, as they will gain more practice, become more independent, and as an additional bonus, improve decision making abilities. However, this doesn’t change the fact that teenagers are more likely to get into vehicle accidents. There are many things that cause it, but the most common one is peer pressure. If you do not know, peer pressure is when one is influenced by someone else to do something, which is usually caused by friends, family, and/or a fan-base (if someone just so happens to have one). Another thing that contributes to accidents by teens is cellular devices, as most teens can get distracted on them very easily, and will stop looking at the road. These are just some examples of it, and it is important that it is addressed and that drivers should overcome these problems before driving on the road.
Overcoming these problems is different for each person. Generally, peer pressure can be pretty overwhelming, and can lead you to do things that aren’t actually good, like taking drugs or alcohol. This can also carry over to driving. Teens can be almost manipulated to do things, which result in dangerous consequences. Teens can also be manipulated by social media, as if they see others doing it, they might believe they can do it too. But, there are ways to stop this from happening. When a teen is driving, they should be told to always keep their eyes up and on the road; never answer or look down to their phone until they are no longer driving, unless necessary. If your friends/family tells you to do something, first think before you act; will this end in dire consequences, or will it cause no harm? They should always remember the rules of traffic when thinking about decisions like these. They should also address other people in the car to stop whatever they are doing if it is distracting. These are all ways to ensure safety, but aren't always achieved on your own. How teens drive is based on how they learn, which means that they must also have a good teacher/mentor.
Proper driver’s etiquette is obviously important. Everyone needs it, including teens, when driving. But how people learn it goes towards how well they put it to use. Teenagers usually gravitate towards learning from parents/guardians, or driving schools when they want to learn, which is good. Learning to drive on your own is very difficult, almost impossible due to inexperience. Even if the schools and parents are experienced drivers, how they teach others is very important, and should always do these things. First, when they explain how everything works, they should explain slowly and with clarity, over and over again, until the student understands it, even if it gets annoying. Second, they must be good role models. Whatever you do while driving will most likely carry onto them. Meaning if the trainer ends up taking risky turns, or goes way over the speed limit, the teen might think they can do it too. Even though no one should ever do this, because the driver is more experienced, they will do it much better than they can. So, if the teen tries to do it, they will most likely fail on their first attempt and get injured. Third, they should learn in a safer environment first. An example of this is in driving schools, which have private parking lots and driving areas to practice and learn the basics without any risk of injury. If you were to start off somewhere, like a freeway, it wouldn’t give promising results, as everything is much more fast-paced and requires more concentration. Starting off with more difficult tasks to learn something will not help as much as starting off with easier tasks. Finally, the trainer should always be observing what they are doing, and comment about it. If they are over the speed limit, they should say something about it. They should also point out the consequences of not doing what they said, so that the driver makes sure to do it next time. With all this, it could make a great driver in the future!
It is important to mention that peer pressure can still overcome some of the best drivers, so it is important to also follow the advice given earlier as well. I personally have never been in a car accident (and I am very grateful for that), but I have seen a famous Youtube streamer do it before. A famous Youtube and KICK streamer named Jack Doherty was distracted by his chat on his phone while driving, and because of this, lost control on the wet ground and crashed his car. Due to peer pressure, he wanted to interact with his chat and drive at the same time, which obviously didn’t end well. This is a good example for people to pay more attention. To make sure that all teens know to be careful, schools usually help with driving skills. As we all know, almost every teenager goes to school. Since school is a place to learn, many schools usually offer free classes to learn how to drive! Communities also take part in promoting safety, such as creating public awareness campaigns, or improving road conditions by fixing them when needed. In fact, 34/50 states in the U.S. banned texting while driving, which was very effective!
In conclusion, teen safety is very important for many reasons, as stated above. There are some extra things to mention: Never drive while very sleepy, never drive while under the influence (while drunk or on certain drugs/medicines), and never drive without a seatbelt. If you are driving while meeting these conditions, you put yourself at risk. If you do something that goes against the rules of traffic safety, even if it is for a few seconds, you can still put yourself and others at risk. So remember to follow the rules, and stay safe while driving!