Tens of thousands of people every year die in crashes caused not only by distracted, neglectful drivers, but by uneducated drivers as well. Driver education should not only be the most important thing when it comes to reducing the number of deaths as a result of driving but it should be required learning in order to even be allowed on the road. It is not only respectful but essential of us not only as drivers, but as people who are raising and setting examples for future drivers to make sure we are educated. This is why driver training should not be required for new drivers, but should be a requisite in order to receive a diploma. For this to happen, it needs to be a lot more accessible to the public.
Just like most things in life, we as people don’t know how to do things unless we learn. For some people, their method or learning style is just visual. This is, I see you do it, and now I can do it. This however, might not be beneficial to new drivers. If you are watching a family member or friend drive and you are learning from them, if they run through an intersection with no signs (a four-way-stop), then you are essentially learning to do that exact same thing. This can potentially cause multiple crashes and deaths in the future. This was unfortunately what happened when my brother was first learning to drive. He would take notes from my uncle, who, at the time, did not value driver safety. He would not only drive around with excessively loud music, but he also ate while driving. Had it not been for other influences in my brother’s life correctly educating him, he might have inherited not just these habits, but others, which would have made him a reckless driver. There are multiple steps that can be taken to reduce deaths while driving. These include wearing seatbelts, and making the decision to not drive intoxicated in any capacity. These steps can be followed by limiting passengers to the number of seats in the car, eliminating all distractions, and putting away cell phones while driving. However, you won’t know these potentially life-saving steps if you haven’t had any driver’s education. Learning road signs, and taking note of potential distracted drivers are important details to teach when preparing new drivers for the road.
Drivers training can be anywhere from $300-$500 depending on states and cities. This can make what should be required teaching unavailable to low-income families, as well as many people who do not have that type of disposable income. This leads to many drivers waiting until 18 years of age and just taking a road test in some states. This drastically raises the chance for uneducated and inexperienced drivers to be out on the road. I was involved in a car accident when I was younger, and maybe if the driver had been more educated on the rules of the road, he wouldn’t have hit us. He apologized profusely, but the damage had been done. Had it not been for my grandmother paying attention, someone could have been seriously hurt. Making drivers training available in high school takes the stress off of parents who are hoping to educate their children, without them having to worry about the monetary aspect of it. Doing this will also decrease the number of potential crashes, as drivers aged 16-19 have the highest possibility of being involved in a fatal crash. High school graduates in many states never take any required classes to assist them in things such as filing taxes, or applying for loans. This makes them vulnerable to bad decisions regarding money. We have already let many high school students graduate without this potentially life-saving information. By making this information required for learning in a place that attendance is forced by law, even students who slack off will graduate with a better understanding of how to be a safe driver.
As a society, it is essential for us to look for each other. As for myself, some steps that I can take to be a better and safer driver include making sure all my passengers are wearing seatbelts, and eliminating unnecessary distractions from inside the car. I also put away my phone in a spot that is not easily accessible from the driver’s seat. By making drivers training required learning, we can prevent hundreds of drivers from going out on the road uneducated. This will minimize the risk of crashes and numbers of deaths because of them, making the road a little bit safer for everyone.