When I was only four years old, my parents were in a car accident. They had just bought a new house, and we were on our way to see it for the first time. I was in the backseat with my one year old little brother when a car, driven by a young driver, pulled out in front of us totaling my Dad’s black Camaro. Even though it is a distant memory now, I remember how I felt and the worry I saw on my parents’ faces. By finding ways to improve driving safety on the road, this same experience could be avoided for others.

Fast forward to a few weeks after I turned 16, which is the age you can receive a license in the state of Texas. I had practiced driving, taken the online courses, and was a pro at roundabouts. My parents insisted that I was not quite ready to be on the road alone. There was something missing. My mom saw an ad online for Doug Herbert’s B.R.A.K.E.S. Teen Pro-Active Driving School. It was just the thing she felt I was missing to truly be a safer driver. We arrived one cloudy Saturday to attend the three-hour course, and we immediately noticed a group of professionals on a race track. We attended the seminar and learned the creator was a professional race car driver who had lost both his sons to reckless driving. It was a heartbreaking story. They told us that 50% of all teenage drivers would be in a car accident before they graduated high school. I did not want to be in that statistic.

They proceeded to take us on a course allowing us to experience what would happen in different scenarios. The first lesson was how to get out of a spin when your car is out of control. It was a frightening situation to be in, but I quickly learned what I should do. The next lessons involved stopping quickly and avoiding an object in the road without losing control of the car. These lessons were not taught online or at a driving school. They were lessons that I learned would be vitally important in my first year of driving as they saved me from three car accidents involving objects in the road and sliding on black ice. I am happy to say I was prepared and left each situation without a scratch on the car. These incidents were not prevented because of the driving school or another online course, but because of the B.R.A.K.E.S. program.

Another opportunity this program gave us was climbing inside a Walmart semi-trailer. They showed us that these drivers can not easily see cars passing on the right side of these enormous trucks. As a young driver, we should always be aware of passing on the right and if possible, never put ourselves in that situation. It could be the difference between life and death especially in high volume traffic. If we can’t see the driver, they can’t see us. It was very eye opening to be able to sit in the truck and get a personal driver’s seat experience.

If we would implement this type of program into all driving schools as a requirement to obtain a license, I truly feel that numerous accidents could be avoided, especially among teenage drivers. Teenagers need to experience real life situations like this. I know my parents would be happy to pay extra knowing I was safer on the road, and my bet is that many other parents would feel the same because insurance costs continue to rise. The amazing thing about this story is the creator and professionals all gave their time through donations to make this program available all over the country for teens like me. It was completely free. They believe in this program because it works. I am safe today thanks to the knowledge they passed to me. What a wonderful testimony to the memory of the two young sons who were lost on a back road late at night.

The impact that these programs could make would be life saving and have a positive impact on all of us just trying to reach our next destination. How can we improve road safety? Start with the next generation and courses focused on giving teen drivers real-life driving experiences in dangerous situations with professionals like I had ready to pass on their knowledge of safe driving.