So you think you can DRIVE?

My mom always tells me, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” As a new driver, that is probably the best way I can explain why driver education is so important. For me, it comes down to awareness. Driver education teaches us about dangers, situations and responsibilities we may not even realize exist. That is important for new drivers, but I think experienced drivers need reminders too. Sometimes having years of experience can make people comfortable enough to forget some of the basic safety rules they learned in the beginning.

When you are driving, your main responsibility should be what? Driving! Phones, food, makeup, music and everything else can wait.

While I have never been in a car accident, I have witnessed irresponsible driving from family and friends who are experienced drivers and I have caught myself making mistakes as a new driver too. One of the easiest distractions happens when we are stopped at a red light. We reach for our phone to check a message or change the song and suddenly someone is blowing their horn because the light turned green.

I’ve done it and that horn definitely startled me. It also made me consciously decide that I can’t keep doing something just because I see experienced drivers doing it. I don’t want to and no one should. There is already too much happening around us while we drive. We have to watch other vehicles, pedestrians, traffic signals, changing road conditions and sometimes people who are not paying attention themselves. If I am distracted enough to miss the light changing, what else could I miss? Now, I purposely put my phone far enough away that I can’t reach it.

I have also watched family members eat while driving on the highway while using their leg to control the steering wheel. I remember thinking, Wow, that’s not safe. I even said it out loud. But when you are the youngest and newest driver, telling an experienced driver that something they are doing is unsafe does not always go over well. I’ve heard, “Do you want to drive?” and “So you think you can drive better?”

Now that I have earned my driver’s license, my answer is, “Yes, and I will be happy to.”

Becoming a safer driver means not copying unsafe behavior just because we see other people doing it. It also means speaking up when something is unsafe, even if the other person does not like hearing it. Maybe speaking up makes an experienced driver stop and realize that having more years behind the wheel does not make an unsafe decision safe. Experience should make us better drivers, not give us an excuse to take more risks.

I also take small, purposeful steps to make myself a safer driver. Before leaving, I adjust my mirrors and choose music that will last the drive. My phone goes somewhere I can’t reach it. Even though my car has steering-wheel controls for phone calls, I don’t answer calls because I know I am not experienced enough to divide my attention between a conversation and the road. Maybe one day I will feel more comfortable, but right now I know my limitations and I think recognizing them is part of being responsible.

If I am hungry, I eat before leaving or wait until I reach my destination. If something needs my attention badly enough, I can pull over somewhere safe. I would rather arrive a few minutes late than make a decision that I cannot take back. I remind myself that whatever seems important at that moment is probably not more important than someone’s life.

Driver education cannot prevent every accident, but it gives us knowledge and makes us think about the consequences of our choices. After that, whether we are experienced drivers or completely new to the driving world, it is up to us to actually use what we learned. Knowing the rules does not matter very much if we choose to ignore them once we get behind the wheel.

Unfortunately, there will probably always be distracted drivers on the road; at least until all cars are self-driving and we are all just passengers. But until then, I have to decide whether I want to copy what everyone else is doing or be the difference.

I choose to be the difference because one second, one decision or one distraction can change a life forever and the life I save could be my own.

See what I did there!