At the young age of thirteen, I drove a car for the first time, and I was terrified. I was in an abandoned, smelly parking lot with my mom, in a blue 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, my speedometer not accelerating past ten miles per hour. After I had driven aimlessly and slowly for fifteen minutes, my step-sister, Jenna, and I switched spots. She drove like a maniac. With no regard for the things my mother was telling her, she drove without a care in the world, as if she were not afraid. Fast forward into the future, and she is nineteen, and I am almost eighteen. She has totaled one car, been in three wrecks, been pulled over twice, and has hit a mailbox and a garage. I have had my same car since I was sixteen with no wrecks, incidents, nor have I ever hit anything. She lacks a thorough driver’s education; I do not.

When Jenna was in the process of getting her learner's permit and driver’s license, the world was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, her required thirty hours of class time were online over a Zoom call. Needless to say, she cheated her way through the entire course, which she openly admits to this day. On the other hand, my driver’s education class was in person, six days, five hours a day. I was not able to cheat because I had a strict instructor. Furthermore, when Jenna went to the DMV to get her license, she went with her twin sister, who drove first. At the end of their driving, the instructor told them that Jenna did not pass, but he did not want to pass one and not the other, so she successfully received her license. 

Just like Jenna, so many other people have not had a good driver’s education. Though I have never been in a wreck myself, I remember how terrifying it was when I got the call that Jenna had totaled her car. I was terrified. Even after the wreck, Jenna drove recklessly, often snapchatting her friends while driving, and sometimes even playing mobile games. When I am in the car with her, I hide her phone until we arrive at our destination. I have reminded her on countless occasions that when she is behind the wheel of a car, she is in charge of not only her life but also the other people in the car and even pedestrians and other drivers. I believe that if she had paid attention in her driver’s ed courses, she would have been a better, more cautious driver. She would have learned the dangers of being on the road and just how costly one decision could be. 

I believe that it is important for this to be enforced in all drivers, especially teens. In this generation, we are so obsessed with our phones that we can’t comprehend driving to a destination without looking at a phone screen just once. It is bizarre, if you think about it. We have become so entranced by our devices that we have started to overlook how dangerous they can be, especially on the road. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,275 people died in 2023 because of distracted driving, and this does not include wrecks without fatal damage. I can reduce this number by sharing how important driver’s education is with my friends, siblings, and even family members. I also have the power to post about it on my social media accounts and spread the word. If I convince my friends to make an awareness post, word would spread quickly. I can also speak out about driving safety at my school. There are multiple areas for me to get involved in my community as well, whether it be giving a speech at the library or park, or providing a presentation to a middle school. If driver’s education is seen as a “cool” thing, more people will start to abide by the traffic laws and become more cautious on the roads. Being a positive influence on driver’s education is important, especially as my younger siblings grow older. I want the roads for them to be safe when they start driving, but it seems that unsafe driving is increasing by the year. 

Personally, I can improve my driving by focusing more on the road. Even though I do not use my phone when I am driving, I sometimes zone out when I am driving, which is just as bad. I need to remind myself to stay focused, but I can also give this reminder to my friends. If we are on a road trip and I see that the driver is getting too absorbed in the music, I can dial down the volume and advise them to pay attention to what is going on in front of them. 

Driver’s education is extremely important for the safety of both pedestrians and drivers, especially with the rise in technological advances that are sure to increase even more. It is important for us to stay focused on the road and be cautious of our surroundings, especially if we want our streets to be safe for the upcoming generations.