Bring Back Driver's Ed to High Schools

For safety's sake, we need to bring back Driver's Ed to high schools.

We had it when I went to high school in the 1970s, but later it was eliminated, reportedly because it became too expensive, what with insurance and all.

But that was a foolish "savings."

If you think about it, to require all students to take a class where they learn safety measures via films and lectures and where a GRADE is the outcome, young people have stronger motivation to learn the value of safe driving.

The instructors were good, too.

When I had private driving lessons decades later, the instructor did not instill confidence in me, and I was too afraid to drive.

He told me not to be a "brake-rider," but I couldn't help it.

My dad did likewise throughout his lifetime, and, yes, he ruined the brakes and gas pedal on every car he owned--which was why I neglected to get my license after I finished the Driver's Ed course.

The teacher told us to get further driving hours and get our license, but the only car I had to drive was my dad's putrid car with bad brakes and accelerator, so I was TERRIFIED!

So I was obliged to use public transportation and to walk until years later, when I decided I needed a license because my dad's eyesight was going, and I wanted more mobility.

But as I said, my private instructor did not alleviate my fears, thus I remain a pedestrian.

One reason is my fear of other drivers--mostly stupid kids who are such bad drivers.

As a pedestrian, I have nearly been hit many times.

Just a couple days ago, as I entered the crosswalk, the right-turning driver didn't even look for people crossing the street.

I was saved by his GOOD brakes alone!

One dangerous crosswalk was near my former residence. Every time I crossed, I was at risk, and was nearly hit by Fullerton College students who checked for traffic, but rarely checked for pedestrians.

Another time, I DID get hit!

One Saturday night, I barely made it across when a driver knicked me on the heel of my shoe.

If I had been one second slower, I would have been road-kill!

According to a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll, Americans increasingly favor raising the driving age.

Nearly two-thirds - 61 percent - say they think a 16-year-old is too young to have a driver's license, versus 37 percent who think it is OK.

This compares drastically with 50 percent who approved of a 16-year-old-minimum driving age in 1995.

Recently, state legislators in Maryland, Florida and Tennessee have tried to raise the driving age to 18, but have met with resistance as parents are reluctant to chauffeur their kids when they can drive themselves to work and to school.

Teen kids want freedom and part-time jobs, so, they prefer to drive independently.

Raising the driving age ALONE won't help--there are bad drivers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s! Bringing back Driver's Ed WILL.

Some high schools partner with driving schools for low-cost drivers' training, but convincing schools to pony up the money for a Driver's Ed program, free of charge, is more of a challenge.

In a Feb. 28 column for internet site Cool Justice, attorney Richard Meehan Jr. writes, "It is time for our high schools to recognize that driver's education is as important a life skill as any other they endeavor to teach.

Rather than force parents to pay, and already overburdened youngsters to find time outside the school day to participate, add driver's ed to the regular high school curriculum.

Students take typing and computer skills, health and electives.

Teen misuse of driving privileges is a far weightier burden.

Language skills and calculus are soon forgotten but an important life skill like driver's training will not only last a lifetime, it will save young lives."

To this I concur:

BRING BACK DRIVER'S ED!