Drivers’ education has become more formal since the 2000s, now it is over a year’s lengthy process that has multiple tests to be able to obtain an official driver’s license. I can still remember the stories of my parents’ times spent in drivers’ education- the instructor was lenient and if they passed the first test or seemed to be a capable driver they were well on their way to their license with a signed certificate. I like to hope that is not the case now, as it certainly was not the procedure that I followed. However, just because it has become a longer process does not mean that it still has integrity. A good drivers ed can prevent road deaths, injuries, and a rise in your insurance rate. Just because the driver’s education follows the protocol does not mean that it is a good driver’s education. I can support this with a personal anecdote, one that I still think of today, and more often after I was involved in a severe accident. As I waited outside the driving education building a week before my 16th birthday to pass my final driving test, I had the chance to watch an instructor give the parking part of the test to a student my age. Now parking may not be the most involved in accidents, but it applies to the topic of uneducated drivers. The girl was struggling with the backing in and parallel parking, and to my surprise the instructor eventually hopped out and guided her into the spots. That day she walked away with her certificate. I hate to imagine all the other things the instructor might have waived even though he is underneath protocol just because the students seem close enough to mastering the skills. It is no longer the issue of going through driver’s training but going through a thorough and honest education.
In January of 2023 I was sitting in the passenger seat of the car that my parents had gifted me for my birthday when we were hit head on by another vehicle. My mother was driving at the time, and because of our seat belts we were left with only minor injuries. That was not the case with my car as the woman who hit us had been traveling fast enough to demolish the front end, later that day I had to go to the tow-yard to collect any personal belongings. Because of a woman who had been ignoring road signs and going well over the speed limit I lost my car that day, gained chiropractor visits twice a month, and gained a new fear of other drivers. She never got out of her car to check on my mother and I and I only know her through the police reports which considered her at fault. It was ignorance that caused that accident. I cannot fully say that a more thorough drivers’ education may have prevented it but there is an exceptionally large chance it could have. Ignorance and uneducated drivers are at large risk to harm themselves and others. After having been through that accident I can unfortunately say that I benefited from it. Now I am much more alert on the road and have learned to drive even more defensively, a skill that was taught in drivers’ education. I never want to experience anything like that accident again, and no person should have to experience it. Through education we can prevent such instances and save lives.
As I had mentioned before, I believe that a large step in becoming a better driver is to stay alert on the road. Phones and devices are easy distractors, and a distracted driver is a dangerous driver. When driving any vehicle your phone should not be in hand, laws have been adopted to try to fight against this growing epidemic and even cars have gotten smarter with voice controls to prevent phone use. Staying alert also means monitoring the vehicles around you and being aware of speed limits, roads signs, and road conditions. Another step that I believe you can take in becoming a better driver is to realize that you are not invincible on the road. Realize your mortality and that of those around you. Sometimes over confidence can kill. Nobody is above the law and accidents can happen at any time and are impossible to predict in most situations. My last and ultimate step in becoming a better driver is to become a defensive driver. There are extra courses that are provided for this, but it truly can be as simple as going to your nearest search engine and finding the principles and techniques of defensive drivers and utilizing them in real life.