Driving to many teens can be their first sense of freedom. The sense of being able to go anywhere at any time, and go to all the places once sealed off from you. For some it can even mean the blossoming of love. But there are many rules to the road that many teens forget that could cost them damages on their cars, and even certain situations in their lives.And a lot of this is caused by either, an unwillingness to pay attention to drivers Ed, or they didn't learn it. The reason it is so important to learn about the rules of the road is so that you don't end up eating your own money for a mistake that 10 grade you made for deciding to sleep through during class and potentially costing you more than that.
In my life many times while driving on the road have seen accidents occur, with ambulances not far off. Its a common experience for everyone. For me I know several family members who have been in accidents. Just as recently as last year a relative of mine was in an accident and we had to go through the long process of scraping it and buying a new car.
And a lot of those accidents could have been prevented by following the rules of the road and not doing plain old stupid stuff.
So there are many ways for teens to familiarize themselves with the laws of the road. Taking a look at the driving handbook for your state can be a very helpful resource that will include all the road signs for your state,driving techniques, and things you may need to check on for your car to be road ready. Also taking a more active stance in driving and looking out for road signs and mentally taking notes can be another way of familiarizing yourself on the roads you drive on daily.
Now Many of these issues could have been solved with a more robust drivers ed course of teens. At least in my experience while my drivers ed experience was thorough it was only for a few classes and everything else was up for me to learn. Like many highschools do already with preparing teens with financial classes, drivers ed could become a mandatory class students take. This would make it so where knowledge is more long term and less forgettable and takes up more mental space. And while students may complain about having to take the class, the lessons learned there could one day save said life.
For me im a recent driver so im still very very careful while driving. Many teens as they get more familiar with driving tend to start ignoring their duties while driving. Drinking while driving, going WAY over the speed limit, and trying to beat the traffic lights are all results of ignoring the rules of the road. “An average of nine teens ages 16-19 were killed every day from motor vehicle injuries", this quote puts into perspective how many teens forget there daily duty and it ends up costing them their lives. Respecting the rules of the road is so much more than just making sure you know to slow down on a yellow. It’s knowing not to drink and drive, knowing to not speed on slippery roads, and putting on your lights during heavy fog. Just following these could save your life while driving on that day, while deciding not to follow them might cost you the next day.
The extended education on drivers ed for teens can save lives and money for you. It comes down to those moments at 19 when you're driving down a road at night and forget to turn on your signal, with the other driver continuing to drive not seeing you and plowing straight into your car. The little moments are why learning and retaining the info make drivers one of the most important classes in your life. You may apply math to your career in the future, or become an English professor. And you could even decide to become a history teacher and teach 9th graders about us history. But you will be driving for the rest, everyday. Whether day or night, just remembering the most basic rules from the drivers manual can save your life and or the person driving right next to you.