The importance of driver education in reducing the number of deaths due to driving is imperative to the well-being of a community's health and safety. My state decided to leave Drivers Education funding up to the individual schools in 2002. This adversely impacted schools in lower-income areas with higher instances of socio-economic inequities. There is evidence that these new laws concerning Driver Education have missed the mark on their responsibility to keep community members safe. “Up until the year 2000, nearly every school district in the state offered a driver’s ed course. But those largely faded away after the Washington Legislature cut funding in 2002” (Denkmann, 2024).
The steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving, can be sectioned into an understanding of how the lack of accessible driver’s education has added to these deaths. Since the privatization of driver’s education, sixteen-year-olds in Washington State who are eligible for their license can obtain one after passing the necessary driver's test and education courses. However, if you are a sixteen-year-old student who cannot afford driver's education courses, you must wait until you are eighteen to obtain a license. When you are eighteen, you can obtain this license regardless of if you completed a driver's education course. This presents a disparity in equity and privilege concerning the accessibility of driver's education programs and those having the resources and money to access them.
When you hear how vital driver education is to your community members and families, ask yourself why only a small population of your community can afford and obtain the necessary education to be a safe driver. When you get in your car next, realize this statistic, “Among people 25 and under who received their license between 2016 and 2020, just 44 percent had completed a driver’s ed course, according to the Traffic Safety Commission. - a 2020 survey from the Safety Commission shows nonwhite young people are more likely to wait until they’re 18 to get a license, with more than half citing cost as the reason” (Kroman, 2024). This is for Washington state, can you imagine the statistics by U.S. region? So why do we advertise discourse regarding the importance of safe driving learned from driver education when so many people in this country never get the opportunity or privilege to access this education?
To protect our youth and communities, we start by understanding the dilemma of privilege and accessibility. We see how the privatization of driver's education has harmed the safety and well-being of all licensed drivers in WA state since these laws were passed.
I have known several classmates who lost their lives due to car accidents, including a recent tragedy in my hometown regarding a tragic casualty that was a result of driving under the influence. This loss has created a ripple effect of ache and blame. When we decide to step behind the wheel of a car, we are never the only ones impacted by those choices.
We can take steps to be better and safer drivers while helping others become safer on the road. This happens through various solutions – including the transparency and education of the real dangers of driving on the road, and how operating a vehicle is a massive responsibility. I recall sitting in my driver's ed course, as we listened to the horror stories and watched the graphic and horrendous car crash footage required. Those graphic images witnessed in that course were both a warning and a responsibility. They showed us what happens when you become irresponsible/careless behind the wheel of a car, or when you do not pay attention driving on the road. I cannot fathom most young drivers today never having heard these conversations, having seen these graphic images, never having understood the statistics of how many young drivers lose their lives the first year of having a license, or the legal consequences of being charged with vehicular assault or vehicular manslaughter.
Driver education is no longer a commonplace subject in U.S. schools. Rather, it’s being left up to individual states, funding, and the capitalization of privatized companies earning a profit over the health and safety of our citizens. When we talk about safe driving, we must dive deeper into what it means to have the ability to spread this knowledge in accessible and equitable ways. To all community members, as driving is the most common mode of transportation in The United States.