Many people,
especially those my age, see drivers ed as a roadblock to
freedom, something you have to do just to get your license and
finally the liberty that being able to drive affords a young person.
However, as the statistics on DmvEdu.org indicate, these students
would do well to pay more attention. Drivers ed can help
prevent these needless deaths and keep everyone safer on the road.
Simply put,
attending drivers ed will produce safer drivers. The more
you can impress upon students the grave responsibility of operating a
motor vehicle, the safer drivers they will be. Providing students
with the raw facts and statistics and emphasizing the risk will
inculcate students with a sense of respect for their cars and a
feeling of responsibility to themselves and others while on the road.
However, this is not to say students should be scared away from
driving entirely with accident statistics. Students must be trained
to be confident but alert drivers, who have the instincts to operate
a motor vehicle safely even in adverse conditions.
I have only been in
a few minor fender-benders personally, so I cannot claim to have had
experience with car accidents. However, I know people who have had
their lives shattered by debilitating injuries from car accidents,
and even lost loved ones. I have seen how scared my friends and
family members who have experienced these events are afterwards, how
gingerly they drive forever afterwards. It really makes me think
about the consequences of just one bad decision, even a split-second
lapse in concentration or judgement.

As a teenager, I
have often witnessed my friends driving irresponsibly. Many of my
friends just don’t understand the risks involved with speeding and
doing dangerous stunts. I always try to remind them of the
consequences involved, that these consequences are far beyond a
wrecked car or a ticket but could be life-and-death. Unfortunately,
these warnings often go unheeded by my peers, who are not mature
enough to see things this way.

This is not to say
that my own driving is perfect. I definitely need to work on driving
more slowly, especially in parking lots, where the majority of car
accidents occur. I should also try to be more alert when driving,
turning down my music and tuning out my passengers’ conversations.
Overall, I feel we could all use a reminder of the stakes of driving
every once in a while, and I definitely believe that the foundation
for safe drivers is built in drivers ed. The importance of
such programs cannot be understated, and I believe that these
programs are essential in emphasizing the costs of just one bad
choice behind the wheel.