If you have ever seen the mass exodus of cars after the dismissal bell rings, then it should come as no surprise that teenagers do not know how to drive!
When I first started to learn how to drive, I was with my parents. During this experience, I was scared, nervous, and it felt overwhelming. I was learning how to properly turn to the right, use turn signals and how to park all in one day. The following week, I was practicing on U.S. 41, which I felt unprepared for. I realized that teenagers are getting into car accidents because of their lack of experience and skills, causing them to speed, make careless mistakes and get distracted by their phones.
According to Teen Traffic Law Accidents, teens account for nearly 15% of all traffic accidents in Florida every year. Out of all the states, Florida is third for the most car accidents in the U.S.
In spite of these statistics, Florida is one out of the top three states that haven’t made an effort to require Drivers Ed for high school students.
Drivers Ed is a course/class that has a certified teacher who teaches students everything they need to know about driving, such as rules on the road and highway, how to pump gas and how to increase confidence on the road.
Since I am a visual learner, it is hard to know exactly what I am supposed to do without someone being there to show me and make me feel comfortable with them. Drivers Ed would help me and my classmates with these very things, providing reassurance that driving is a scary time, but by practicing properly you will feel extra confident being on the road.
According to idrivesafely, students who have taken a Driver’s Ed course have been in fewer car accidents than students who haven’t taken the course.
In Florida, students have access to go to driving school, which is similar to Driver’s Ed, but they have to pay for it. Students have benefited from it by picking up on how to conquer various situations and feel safer doing it.
High school students would benefit from taking Drivers Ed. In addition to taking math, English and science courses, driving is a crucial life skill and should be respected just as much as core subjects. During school, you learn definitions and how to solve certain problems. In Drivers Ed, you receive similar guidance, but you learn the definitions of signs, traffic signals and changing lanes, all important to keeping yourself and others safe on the road.
