The importance of driver’s education is, it provides essential knowledge and driving skills that will help prevent accidents and reduce the number in traffic deaths. Driver’s education provides increased road safety by knowing the rules of the road and your responsibilities as a driver. It helps you understand the laws your state has when driving. It provides you with roads signs for your state and common signs too. It provides you with the awareness and importance of car maintenance and knowing your own vehicle and keeping it safe and sound for the road. It makes you aware of situations that you may encounter while driving, for example, how to react to bad weather conditions, flash flooding of roads, being aware of road construction and its workers, being aware of sudden heavy traffic with nonstop on and off movement of vehicles, and being aware of other drivers not obeying the laws. Driver’s education can teach you how to handle your vehicle in case of an emergency. It teaches you to use lanes properly, to zipper merge, use roundabouts properly. Not all areas have roundabouts and a lot of people do not know how the rules are for those. Driver’s education teaches you how to communicate with other drivers, for example, the use of turn signals, something that seems to always be underused. Approximately, 75% of teen drivers that did not enroll in a driver’s education program, violated rules and received tickets. About 24% of teens are more likely to be involved in fatal accidents. Some young drivers become overly confident and have a know it all and nothing can happen to me attitude, leading to reckless driving.
There’re several steps that can be taken to reduce the numbers of deaths related to driving. One example is encouraging a healthy habit of no cell phone use while driving. There is about a 13% of distracted driving deaths involving cell phone use. Another example is no drinking and driving while operating a vehicle. In 2023 alone, there’s approximately 13,490 DUI fatalities, where people were killed involving alcohol impairment. This accounted for approximately 30% of traffic related deaths in the U.S. Being beware of your surroundings at all times while driving is a must! Don’t drive too close to vehicles ahead of you. Keep your eyes focused and scanning the road at all times. You never know when an animal, person or another vehicle may jump in front of you. Approximately 8% of fatal car accidents are due to distracted drivers. Don’t be one of those distracted drivers! Always stay Alert! You, as an individual not just need to know how to use the accelerator, brakes, and steering of a vehicle, vehicles operators require visual, cognitive and motor skills. You as an individual need to be healthy at all times while driving. Health concerns can also be an issue when operating a vehicle, especially if you are on certain medications. Certain medications can also cause you to have a DUI. Some medications can impair your ability to drive because some can slow your coordination, judgement, and reaction time. Keep in mind that speeding doesn’t save time either, it increases your chances of causing an accident. Bear in mind, the roadway is not a racetrack and you are not competing with other drivers on the road. On the other hand, driving too slowly is also not a characteristic of a safe driver and can also cause distraction, road rage among other drivers, and/or an accident. Be patient and arrive at your destination safely! Practice self-discipline and prevent road rage. Be aware of the weather, you may have to slow down and keep a fair distance to the vehicle in front of you. Be cautious at all times.
I personally have not been involved in a car accident, but my mother has. It was the other driver’s fault with two violations against that driver. The driver was from out of town and it was during the Christmas holidays. The individual missed their turn and they decided to make an illegal right-hand turn in the middle of an intersection. It was a green light. My mom was on the far-right lane proceeding into the intersection. The other driver was on the lane on my mother’s left side, wrong lane to make the right- hand turn in the first place. My mom could not stop in time when this individual made her illegal right-hand turn, causing an accident. The individual’s flipped and my mother’s car was totaled. There were injuries caused. If the individual would have followed the rules of the road, this accident would not have happened.
Steps that I can take to be a better and safer driver is to be more focused with less distractions. I can stay more actively focused while driving when I have my friends in the vehicle with me and not be distracted by them, whether its being excited by them being there giggling and talking. I can stay more actively focused on the road by constantly scanning my surroundings to prevent tunnel vision. Especially, since in Pennsylvania, there are many deer in its surroundings. We have an intersection that many drivers run the red light. By being focused and being aware of my surroundings, I can keep an eye out for those who run these red lights, preventing me being involved in an accident. Also, when entering my vehicle, I can place my phone in a spot where I will most likely not be able to look at it or use it while driving. I can check my mirrors frequently and scan my surroundings in front of me leaving enough space between me and the car in front. Don’t multitask, like talking and texting, eating and drinking, or fiddling with the radio. Always keep my hands on the steering wheel at all times. Always wear my seatbelt, drive the speed limit at all times and always obey all traffic signs. I can make sure I get plenty of sleep so I am not tired, being tired increases my chances of a crash. I wear glasses. I can make sure I get my yearly eye exams and wear the proper eyewear. Another skill for me to be a safer driver is to acquire an excellent sense of navigation. Being loss can cause confusion and frustration which can cause distractions.
In conclusion, driver’s education should be an important part of any driver learning to drive. It helps enforce people to be aware of the road, its rules, being safe while driving, and doing the right thing. Being responsible and reliable are characteristics of a safe driver that will help keep you and your community safe.