Driver’s Education is of the utmost importance when it comes to reducing the number of deaths that come about because of driving. In Driver’s Education, they teach you all about the different dangers that come with driving, as well as how to get out of different situations safely and effectively. With this extra knowledge, you are less likely to get into situations that will eventually lead to death, and even if you do get into those situations, you will be more likely to be able to escape from them without actually dying. Driver’s Education also gives you a chance to learn the limits of your car - not only the size of it, but also the fine tuning of it, but also how it reacts to situations like the rain, sleet, or snow. Knowing how it reacts to these situations, you can know how to apply different pressures and put in precautions in case you get into bad situations. Driver’s Education allows you to learn the intricacies of your car, so that when you do get into bad situations, you know how your car will react, and you know what you can do to get out of them.
There are many different steps that you can take in order to reduce your likelihood of dying while driving. First of all, making sure that you have a good foundation of knowledge, even if it isn’t through Driver’s Education (although your foundation will most likely be stronger if you do go through the program), building this base will help you have at least the head knowledge of what to do in special circumstances, allowing you to be more prepared to act calmly and purposefully when those situations actually do occur. After that, having rules in place for yourself where you are unable to do things like text and drive, or drink and drive, or any of these things that cause your risk of getting into an accident to increase will give you a higher likelihood of not entering these situations in the first place. Making sure that you stop when you get too tired, or aren’t able to pay enough attention to your surroundings will also help you be less likely to get into situations that you can’t react quick enough to get out of.
I myself have been in an accident, although it was not fully my fault. When my accident occurred, it was dark and rainy, and as I was driving through a large puddle, a car going in the other direction decided to turn in front of me. I swerved in order to not crash into them, and happened to crash into the car that I had been following. I did not take Driver’s Education myself, and I feel like if I had taken it, I would have reacted better to the situation, and I might not have gotten into the accident that I did. I also forgot to get the license and registration of the car in front of me that I crashed into, which I probably wouldn’t have forgotten had I taken a Driver’s Education course. I have also seen my friends driving irresponsibly, by texting and driving, and this fact makes me very nervous for their safety and the safety of the other drivers around them. Knowing how important being safe on the road is, I have been trying to let them know that what they are doing is not okay, and that if they did end up dead, I’m not sure what I would do.
Encouraging others to be safe, through calling their actions out as soon as they do them could potentially lead my friends to be safer on the road. If you call people out on their behaviors as soon as they happen, oftentimes people know what you are talking about sooner, and are more likely to take it to heart. If you approach them too late, there is a higher chance that they will just brush you off, and not actually consider what you are saying as something that they should listen to. For myself, I think that to be a safer driver, I should be sure to leave more than enough space in front of me and the person in front of me, even if they are going way under the speed limit, or other people try to cut in because they think that there is enough room in front of me and the car in front of me. By leaving this gap, I will be more likely to stop - if what happened to me happened again - before I hit any other car in front or to the side of me. I think it is also very important for me to be aware of ALL of my surroundings, not just the cars around me going the same direction that I am, but also the cars going the opposite way of me, so that I am able to anticipate what actions they might take, and give myself plenty of time to react to those actions, instead of being caught in the moment, reacting after they already started moving, rather than before.
Overall, I really think that it might be a really good idea to require Driver’s Education classes when you are going to get your license, like they require it in Washington. If everyone were required to take Driver’s Ed classes, and perhaps even have to retake them if you end up being pulled over by the cops for speeding, or anything like that, then I think that the roads would be a lot safer, and we probably would have a lot less accidents than we do currently.