Did you know that 1 in 63 Americans are likely to experience a car crash? With America having a population of roughly 330 million, this means that roughly 5.2 million Americans  experience a car crash in one year. These car accidents are largely due to two reasons, impaired driving and speeding. The impaired driving mostly consists of drunk driving as well as distracted driving, such as using cell phones. But the most startling one is speeding. This is shocking because those that are found speeding are 15 to 22 year olds. This is the age group that still has their whole lives ahead of them, and they’re the ones at risk of losing everything. The largest thing that can be done to prevent this, is to teach them properly, to make sure they know the risks and responsibilities they have when they get behind the wheel. While parents and guardians may be able to teach some of these things, they need professionals. This is why driver education is so important in the number of crashes, and by doing this, deaths.

Throughout my life, I have seen irresponsible driving. Thankfully, no one has been hurt. But whenever I see them doing, whether it be texting or not paying attention, I say something. I feel that if I don't say something and something happens, part of it will be my fault. Whenever I myself am driving, I stay focused on the road, knowing that if I mess up I could hurt someone else. That is my top priority, first comes making sure other people don't get hurt, and then myself. This way of thinking is how I have been ever since drivers training, but for others they might not be the same. Some people might not feel the same sense of responsibility or know what to look out for behind the wheel, that's what drivers training is for. Driver training is a place where three very important things happen. One, they’re taught how to drive and the rules of the road. Without these skills and the knowledge of the road, they wouldn't be able to safely go anywhere. If this was the case, they would be a liability to other people and themselves, it's important that they know what they are doing and are able to ask about things they don't know., which leads to my second point.

Being able to ask questions. In highschool I, and many others, have had teachers that just give you assignments and a book and tell you to get it done. That doesn't work. In the end a lot of information is missed because they don't have someone to ask if they don't understand something, this is why having an instructor is so important. An instructor is someone they can ask for help without fearing being embarrassed about it, much like a teacher. They are able to ask “what if'' scenarios that a book wouldn't be able to answer. Another aspect of having an instructor help is actually driving. For many kids going into drivers training its their first time driving a car, many are likely to be afraid. Having an instructor who can stop the car if needed and give you instructions/advice would be very helpful and calming. It also helps to reduce the risk of causing a crash, thus protecting the learning driver and others on the road. But all of this help would be useless unless the driver feels one thing, responsibility.

If the driver does not feel like they have responsibility to focus and to not be a hazard on the road, everything else previously mentioned wouldn't matter. They wouldn't focus on ensuring others and their own safety. This is the most important lesson that driver's education offers. It shows what happens to those who don't act responsibly, as well as to those around them. If every driver knew they were responsible, and that they should act that way, there would be next to no accidents. No drunk driving, no texting while driving, and no other forms of distracted driving. The biggest action we can take to prevent accidents is to not take part in distracted driving. Everytime you pull out that phone, you look away from the road, making an opportunity for something to happen. Every Time you have a couple of drinks and get behind that wheel, you very well might cause someone to lose their loved ones. Drivers training teaches what to avoid to protect our own and other people's lives. It teaches us to think about whether or not what we are about to do is worth taking someone's life.