Driving is one of the most impactful forms of transportation. It started way back in the 1920’s when Henry Ford built automobiles using a task called the assembly line. It was designed to allow multiple workers to build technology at a much faster pace. Once automobiles were built, the majority of American families invested in them to be able to move from place to place. The physical appearance has changed in the last century, and so have the rules and habits. Back when they were first invented, there were no rules on the road resulting in deaths or near-death experiences with pedestrians. The gov’t has established driving laws to prevent this from happening. In this day and age, the biggest issue with driving has been distraction resulting in thousands of lives lost every year from accidents. Types of distractions include drinking, smoking, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol before or during driving, and texting. Texting is a more common type of distraction. In all fifty states, laws are mostly the same about being under the influence of something while driving. However, some laws about driving itself differ. That is why every driver must pass some sort of class before getting their license. The importance of a driver’s education class in reducing the amount of deaths is that it inspires them at the beginning to be safe by learning about the long - term and short - term consequences of these distractions.
The key to inspiration is showing people how other people’s actions affect them in big ways. In a driver’s education class, students are taught about people who experienced life-long disabilities that resulted from car crashes. A lot of the crashes were spurred by a distracted driver. It even turned out that the text messages sent were very short. Not all of them were long and that still was enough to hurt someone else. Some of these people who gained life-long disabilities were actually the ones texting and driving but experienced a greater impact. If the students are able to see what major physical consequences are associated with being distracted while driving, then they will feel more eager to follow the rules on the road and pay attention to avoid these consequences. They will gain the idea that one silly mistake could impact their wellness in a major way. In addition to the class showing them the consequences, it also teaches them about the laws of being focused along with the criminal penalties that come with them.
Besides the lessons on the effects of accidents on people, a driver’s education class inspires people to avoid distractions by teaching about the charges they can receive by law. The class goes over how law enforcement agencies and workers punish people who get distracted. The majority of distractions punishable by law revolve more around drugs and alcohol. The students will learn about the monetary fines and jail time they can face if they are driving under the influence of anything. They also will learn that being distracted by texting and getting into an accident causing injury amongst others or damage to their cars comes with a punishment too. The distracted driver who is texting will receive points on their record that counts toward their status of whether or not they are allowed to have their license or eligible to have it revoked. If students come to realize this in their class, they will feel more obligated and motivated to drive safely by avoiding being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It does not mean that they will choose not to drink or use drugs domestically, but they will stay more humble to the fact that they need to keep other lives safe on the road. Basically, these classes will teach driver’s the federal consequences that they can face if they are distracted in a way that they can still keep their eyes on the road, but not fully subdue themselves to driving carefully because of their substance-based distractions. It will remind them to never use drugs or alcohol right before driving.
As a result, a driver’s education class is able to motivate a new driver to focus on the road without distraction by teaching them about the consequences. This lowers the number of deaths per year due to less interruptions on the road. When the class instructor teaches about the physical life-long consequences of an accident that distractions can instigate, the learner feels less obliged to let their phone or a drug interfere with their safety. And, when they learn of the federal charges associated with an accident; such as points, fines, or jail time; they feel more scared of what could happen to their life and freedom over a ridiculous choice. Overall, a driver’s education class does a phenomenal job pushing away the desire to put other lives in danger. More people learn how absurd it looks for them to be so irresponsible in a more dangerous part of town. One person’s dumb joke could be someone else’s disaster.