Driving education is detrimental to today’s society. It is a known fact that only around sixty-two percent of drivers had taken a drivers test before getting their license. 62% may sound like a large number; however, when you consider the amount of people on the road with you who are risking not only their lives, but also yours, that’s a alarming statistic. Driver education is important to reducing the number of accident and fatalities due to accidents. When a person is well informed of the rules of the road and is mindful of the people around them and how to perform this task in the safest way possible, there will be less fatalities. Drivers ed is important because you spend about a week in a school environment, which stimulates a learning atmosphere for your brain, and you spend time driving around a course with an instructor who will make sure you know exactly what to do in dangerous situations and situations that one may not even think of when they only drive with their parents in the year they had obtained their learner’s permit. While I was going through drivers’ education, I realized there was so much more to learn than what I had learned from my parents and from the online driving course. I did not realize that there could be so many dangerous situations and, even though I knew how to drive, I did not know how I would react to certain situations. Drivers’ education definitely taught me to be more aware of my surroundings and how to drive safely with doing more than just simply following the rules of the road. It taught me the laws, but also how to react when a driver around you breaks these laws.
Car accidents, even if not fatal, are traumatizing and petrifying. I personally have never been in a car accident, but I have had experiences with them. A few years ago, my cheerleading team was driving in four separate cars to go get lunch before practice, all following behind each other. One of the girls on our team, Emma, was on her phone, watching Tiktoks, while driving, and we were caught in a terrifying situation. Emma did not see that the people in front of her were allowing down, and she rear ended her teammate in front of her, who then hit the teammate in front of her. As I sat there in the passenger seat of the car behind Emma, I watched my flyer’s car get smashed in between two other teammates and knew that our season was over. It was the scariest experience of my life, considering every person in each of the vehicles was like family to me. It was heartbreaking because all I could do was watch in awe. Having no control over a situation is the scariest part because you have no choice but to just let this horrible thing happen to your loved ones right in front of your face. This experience taught me about the importance of safe driving and the value of the lives of the people around us. By being on her phone, Emma was risking the lives of her entire team, and I am just grateful that the worst thing that happened as a result of the accident was two broken necks. It could have been a lot worse, but luckily that was all that happened. However, it did end up being the end of our season because we had too many injured teammates to perform to our full potential at nationals. The day of this accident was the day that I swore to never drive with my phone in hand, especially with other people in my car. I could not imagine the way Emma felt after this accident and how the families of the people she hurt felt as well. I do not think I could live with that burden. So, every time I’m in the car, I turn my phone on Do Not Disturb and start my music before I put my car in drive. If there are other people in my car, I give them my phone and tell them they can use it to play music or just hold it for me, so I am not tempted. I believe that this regulation I have made has saved me from ever getting into any collisions because it forces ne to be aware of all that is going on around me and to think of every possibility that could happen while I am driving. It has taught me the value of safety and being aware that you are not only risking your life, but also those around you. Consequently, Driver’s education is detrimental to society as technology is becoming more prominent and people are using it more often while they operate motor vehicles and learn to drive. We must prevent this from happening by taking driver’s education courses to inform ourselves of not only the laws of the road, but also safety options.