I am a seventeen year old driver. I got my permit on my 15th Birthday. I took my Driver’s Test on my 16th Birthday in Duluth during a snowstorm. 

Driver’s Education has been a part of my life long before I ever became a driver. My Grandpa was a Driver’s Education teacher for teens when he was a teacher. Now that he’s retired, he teaches 55 Alive (Senior Driver Accident Prevention courses). Since I can remember, I have been having conversations with my parents and grandparents about driving and what is happening on the road.

My grandpa will tell everyone stories about impaired drivers, and how he has worked to prevent people from getting behind the wheel impaired. Almost 20 years ago, he worked with a video crew to keep some college age teens awake all night. They tested their cognitive reactions on a driving course with sleep deprivation. The drivers hit cones and made poor decisions. That video is still shown in some Minnesota Drivers Ed courses today. 

Grandpa also used to take a driving simulator out to schools around Minnesota. It would put teens behind the “wheel,” having them drive through different conditions. Then, it would adjust their reaction times and perceptions based on being a drunk driver. The teens would find themselves unable to avoid hitting other “cars” and even “people” on the street. Grandpa’s stories about this simulator and the impact it had on the students who experienced it has stood out to me. 

Grandpa’s other grandchild has heard these same stories, probably more because they have lived closer together. He’s also been driving seven years longer than I have. In this time, he has rolled his truck twice by falling asleep. You would think he would have learned the first time. Even with the best education, people can make poor choices. 

My experiences driving to and from school include seeing a lot of drivers on their phones, texting. These people are so focused on their phones that they don’t notice what is going on around them. Sometimes during stop and go traffic, they will be too distracted to notice that traffic has started moving. Because of when I am driving the most, and that most of my driving happens around other teenagers, this is what I notice the most. These drivers are not looking at a map. The phone is in their hand, in front of their face, which limits their peripheral vision and awareness. Many years before I started driving, a teen girl hit the fire hydrant outside of my house while looking for music on her phone. This was a totally preventable and unsafe crash. 

Outside of my school, there is a road that has two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school across the street from each other. Many of the drivers are the high school students that I mentioned above. The drivers are also parents who are rushing out of parking lots, possibly to get to work on time. They are going too fast. There have been two major incidents since I have started driving where people have been hit while crossing the street on crosswalks. Even with crossing guards with flashing signs and flashing people crossing light, the drivers are not safe. It was even a crossing guard that was hit one of the times. The other time, it was a middle school student. 

Driver’s Education programs teach the basics. They teach the laws as in textbook driving. My brother is 15 and just got his permit. (He hasn’t done any driving yet.) I’ve tried to explain to him that other drivers on the road change black and white situations into more complex situations. My brother can be oblivious to the non-textbook situations that he might encounter. For example, an unexpected object on the road may change the flow of traffic. Construction can change speed and the behavior of drivers. While the Driver’s Education program can tell in words about these concepts, and even show videos, a lot of driving is truly learned once you experience the real roads. 

More simulator type experiences would help with making these abstract concepts more real to drivers before they hit the road. Driver’s Ed is probably the most important class that a teen takes. Driver’s Education marks the beginning of a time of freedom for teens, but they need to know how to use that freedom safely. 

Personally, I can urge people not to get behind the wheel while impaired. I can offer rides to people who have been drinking. I know not to drive while sleepy, and I can take turns driving on a long road trip so that everyone stays rested. I can encourage other people, especially teens, to put away their phones. No message is so important that you need to get in an accident. Learn to start your playlist before driving and let it play without interruptions. 

As a grandchild of a Driver’s Educator of 50 years, I hope to help make the world a safer place on the roads.