During my junior year of high school I was preparing to take my drivers test when my parents judiciously signed me up for drivers education. Initially, I was not excited to spend 6 hours a week with a driving instructor and my peers. I felt that it was inappreciable and that my parents were wasting a great deal of money on something so simple. However, this mindset slowly changed as I realized the true value of proper drivers education.
My dad had been teaching me to drive prior to my enrollment in drivers education and I felt that his lessons would be sufficient in teaching me both skills to make driving decisions and the rules of the road. Although I cannot discount the value of his lessons, he could not possibly teach me everything that I would need to know to be a safe and well practiced driver.
From the first day of driver's education, I felt an increased sense of confidence behind the wheel and I had started to learn the importance of knowing all of the facts about driving. Prior to drivers education I had only been exposed to road signs and different circumstances in my neighborhood. For example I had never been in a school zone or seen a yield sign before driver's education. By the third class I had begun to look forward to what I might learn both in the car and in the classroom. Diligently I would take notes in class and practice my driving weaknesses with my parents on days that I didn’t have driver’s education.
Drivers education classes came and went and my driving continued to improve. And then, at one of the last classes, a state trooper came in to talk to the group. One of the first things that he said to a classroom full of teenagers was the following, “One of you will not make it through the summer.” I found his words to be incredibly shocking and simultaneously invaluable. The matter of fact fashion in which he stated that someone in the very room we were sitting in would be involved in a fatal car crash before even graduating high school was terrifying and brought a sense of somberness to the room. From this point on, everybody began to pay careful attention to what the state trooper had to say.
He went on to warn about the dangers of drinking and driving as well as reckless driving and each warning had a cautionary tale associated with it. The real life examples of people who had been severely impacted by life altering car accidents were transformative in my view towards driving safety. This state trooper had witnessed so many tragedies among the young generation of drivers and his dedication to preventing further incidents by educating the youth in his community was truly impactful. Each story was about a real case that he had witnessed and this made all of the students reflect on how common serious crashes are. Knowing that teenagers your own age in your own area have been killed or seriously injured while driving is a terrifying though, and also one that sparks a desire to prevent this from happening to you.
When drivers are more educated about the risks associated with driving they are more likely to take measures to prevent those risks from occurring. It is proven that young drivers who do not take driver’s education are more likely to be involved in fatal accidents and get a traffic ticket. This shows the facts that driver education is extremely beneficial in preventing motor vehicle accidents among the young population of drivers.
This part of drivers education is not something that can be taught by one's parents or by completing a 5 hour course on safe driving. I think that the personal engagement from this guest speaker made everyone a little more conscious on the road and may have persuaded people against making poor decisions while driving. Guest speakers like this are part of what sets driver's education apart from other methods of learning to drive. It communicates all of the facts to the students, even the facts that no one wants to talk about. And, driver education provides the students tools to prevent them from becoming victims to these tragic accidents.
I truly feel like driver's education is the toolbox for being a safe driver. It provides you with all of the tools necessary to be a safe and successful driver such as in car experience, learning the rules of the road, and activities that teach about the importance of safety. Whats more, when you use all of these tools together it is a breeze to pass your drivers test, drive safely, and be confident on the road.