Driver safety is a topic in which we all experience, but it is often not thought about except in cases of extreme tragedy. While many people drive, active thought about driver safety is rare. While driving, many people are thinking about a wide variety of other things, such as where they are going, what they will do when they get there, what is being talked about on the radio, or any other of dozens of different tasks. For most people, the only time they think about driver safety is when they watch the news and see a car accident. In those moments, people are quick to blame others. The thoughts of “That driver was being careless,” or “What was that driver doing wrong,” or “I’m glad I was not involved in that,” are quick and immediate. But rarely ever do they reflect on themselves. They fail to learn from the mistakes of others and use these lessons to be better drivers, and fail to try and help others be better. In the midst of all this, you have teenage drivers. Teenage drivers are the newest, and most unprepared drivers. While one can spend all the time in the world practicing driving, only once you get on the road will you learn how to drive well. It’s a synical joke, but driving is super easy, as long as there are no more drivers. Drivers learn quickly to have zero faith in other drivers, to always assume that no one else knows what they are doing, and that you can never assume what someone is about to do.
Unfortunately for teenagers, this knowledge only comes with experience, and that is the very thing they lack. This is why they can be the most in danger and the most dangerous drivers. A lack of experience can cause them to make seemingly “obvious” errors just because they do not know better. Whether it be that they pull out in front of a car with their turn signal on because they assume they are turning early, or a driver pulls out in front of them and they get into a crash. Instances such as these can easily be avoided but come from a place of inexperience.
An example of this I saw in my own life came from when I was driving home form work one day. I was driving behind another driver and noticed they had their turn signal on for several streets. I knew I had to keep a safe distance because I had no way of knowing when they were going to turn and I needed to give myself enough time to stop my vehicle. As we were approaching an intersection, the car still had their turn signal on but went straight through the intersection. Another car, seeing the turn signal on, went straight through this intersection and crashed right into the car that had their turn signal on. Had this car made this turn the crash would have been completely avoided. Had the driver done what their car had suggested, then the crash would have been avoided. But this is not what happened. The other driver, who I saw looked incredibly young, did not realize that some people like to ride on their turn signal and do not turn when expected. They did not do what any other experienced driver would have done: wait. They would have waited for the entire intersection to be clear before driving. Instead they got into not a major one, but a car crash none the less. They now have to go through the experience of exchanging insurance information, being the driver at fault, and having to pay higher insurance fees, and any other fees for the damages caused that insurance would not cover. This driver, for the rest of their life, will know this lesson, but it should not be this way. Had that driver been more educated on the matter, they would have known not to trust the other driver, and the crash would have been avoided.
This is why teenage driver safety is so important. If teenage drivers can learn how to drive cautiously and defensively, they can put themselves in a safer position on the road and decrease their chances of being put in a dangerous spot on the road. Driving accidents usually come from a place of carelessness. Teenage drivers are very likely to be careless as their lack of experience leads them to either be too trusting or too naive about other drivers’ actions. Therefore, they can easily get into accidents hurting not just themselves but others as well. This can cause much property damage, injuries to others, or even death. This makes teenage driver safety such an important issue for everyone. If teenage drivers are safe on the road, this controls a huge factor that causes much destruction and death every year.
This is also why driver’s education is so important. If given a proper teacher, young drivers can learn what they should watch for and expect while driving. They can learn about common mistakes that other drivers make and what they can do to prevent themselves from being put in a dangerous situation while driving. The very experience they lack, can be taught to them, so while they still lack years on the road, but they know what to look for and how they can be safe. By reducing teenage inexperience on the road, our entire society on the road is safer, and countless deaths and destruction can be greatly reduced.
But how can these drivers be taught? The simplest way is increase access to driver safety education. If all high schools, whether they be public or private, have embedded within their curriculum a driver education course, this can give all students access to the courses needed to drive safely. Furthermore, by it being controlled and taught within schools, students will be taught by a teacher they know and trust. This can increase the chances of them believing what is being taught, and that their overall engagement will increase. If schools also make it a graduation requirement, this guarantees that all future drivers will have to at least have some amount of knowledge to draw upon once they are on the road. While they will not be experts and there is no guarantee that students will listen to what is being taught to them, it will decrease an incredibly important factor in teenage driving mistakes. While some students will undoubtedly still make mistakes, the most controllable factor in teen driving accidents can be fixed.
This will not be easy, though. These courses require funding and capital that some schools may have. It is then up to society as a whole to increase schools funding to give them access to these programs. It is also up to the schools to allocate resources to these programs and make them a priority for overall student safety. While it will not be the simplest method, this will make not just the students but society as a whole, safer.