By Owen Liu
A memorable rite of passage for teens is taking up the wheel and learning to drive. To many, learning this skill marks a new exciting stage in their life with most opting to take driver’s education classes. These classes not only raise awareness, but build healthy habits, and overall makes the road safer for everyone. However, not everyone has the capabilities to afford these expensive schools which begs the question, should Irvington provide drivers education?
In the United States of America, over 6 million police reported car crashes each year, with an average of 16,000 crashes a day. In 2022 alone, these crashes led to 42,500 fatalities and 2.38 million injuries. According to the Department of Transportation, these crashes were a result of impairment, speeding, distraction, and driver’s error.
Nonetheless, with proper education, a large number of these accidents could be prevented. By covering everything from traffic laws, to vehicle maintenance, and how to handle certain weather conditions, drivers education classes could be the difference in nearly all scenarios.
We live in an era filled with technological advances, but at the end of the day it is a flesh and bone human behind the wheel. When new safety features such as assisted braking, lane departure warnings, or even autopilot fail the driver needs to make quick and smart decisions. To make driving on the road as safe as possible, drivers education is highly recommended.
However, as aforementioned, driver education classes could leave a very pretty dent in the wallet with the average class costing hundreds of dollars. This hefty price tag might be out of the reach for some less advantaged students.
How do we fix this? Well, Irvington could provide students with driver education classes. This would ultimately make roads safer not just for students but for other drivers as well.
Research from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln indicates that students who completed driver education were 1.8% less likely to get into a car crash and 7.9% less likely to get a ticket compared to those who did not.
Sophomore Paul Van Haetsdaele said in an interview, “if Irvington provided drivers ed it would make everyone’s lives so much easier,” further adding how driver’s education would make him feel much more “comfortable” with driving.
Overall, I believe that an incorporation of driver education classes in the Irvington school district would be extremely beneficial not just for the students but for the surrounding community.
Comments are closed.