The
Road Doesn’t Just Belong to You... It Belongs to Others Too


Many
teens new to driving treat the road like a playground: a place to let
out energy and try new tricks. On a playground, it’s okay to be a
little careless as long as you don’t get hurt. Classifying the road
as a playground is one of the biggest mistakes a driver can make.
Without having much-needed knowledge of driving, young teens are
doomed to be severely injured or even die on the road. That is why
drivers’ education is absolutely
necessary
for new drivers. Drivers’ education provides teens the opportunity
to properly learn the rules of the road and eventually fit in with
the crowd without putting anyone’s lives in danger.
There
was a time where I was in need of a quick ride to Walmart after
school. The ride was certainly quick, but not to my liking. For the
first time, I sat in the car with a reckless driver. Her rap music
was so deafening that it was impossible to hear a potential ambulance
or police siren. She risked passing red lights, she constantly
surpassed the speed limit, and she never practiced a safe following
distance. To say that the drive to Walmart petrified me would be an
understatement. But, what I took from that chilling experience was
that we need to take steps to become safer on the road.

Of
course, as drivers, it’s important to value our own safety, but
everyone else’s safety is equally important. Drivers ed
lowers the number of deaths on the roads. A study has shown that more
than 150,000 teen drivers noticed that drivers’ education lessens
crashes, traffic violations, and deaths on the road. As much as
anyone would dread to take drivers ed, it is very important
for one’s safety and everyone around them. In many states, it’s
possible to obtain a driver’s license without enduring drivers
training. For example, Michigan permits citizens over 18 to take
their state driving skills test without going through driver’s
training. While a driver’s test is designed to cover the basics of
driving and skills, it doesn’t examine every detail of the road.
Unfortunately, this provides a little leeway for inexperienced
drivers. Therefore, the best way to reduce the number of deaths
related to driving is to make every new driver take drivers training
no matter the age. If they go through the proper training, we can
provide more safety for everyone on the road.

It’s
so important to understand the consequences of our actions,
especially when those consequences involve the lives of others.
Drivers training can ensure that people of all ages have sufficient
knowledge to stay safe on the road. No longer should we allowed
individuals over 18 to take the drivers test only. We must remember
that there are thousands of experienced drivers on the road who will
expect others to understand the numerous nuances of driving. By
enforcing drivers’ training, we as a society can be 100% sure that
everyone understands what is expected of them on the road.