Poor Driver's Education

OK - everyone in this country knows someone who they are, quite honestly, scared to ride in a car with. People around here can be quite appalling drivers. Some are quite good, and there are many diligent and stellar drivers, but the programs designed to educate drivers should take no credit. Honestly, it is an absolute embarrassment. It is easy to get on the road, but upon exiting the driver's education program - for teenagers - you have learned how to keep the car in the lines on the road, the basic rules... um... hmmm.. I did not even learn how to park in driver's education. The teachers had no real mastery of driving. They act more as supervisors rather than giving constructive feedback on your progress behind the wheel. It would be an absolute waste of my time spending six hours or forty hours with my driver's education teacher. In fact, I was confident going in to driving, but my teacher made me exceptionally nervous and very uncomfortable behind the wheel. Now - I am a kart racer and have driven my dad's car before, and am a car person first and foremost. I understand vehicles and driving dynamics, to say the least. But driver's education knocked my confidence and taught me little about how to drive on public roadways. And on top of that, no one - not even the teachers - actually takes it seriously. No one retains the information that was learned, and as such, American roadways can be a bit unruly and in need of taming. This is not limited to my little alcove in the Eastern United States, as the things that gave rise to this trend can be seen all across the country. Driver's education is sorry in this country. Thankfully, organizations have been working to improve the education that young drivers receive. In particular, though by no means limited to, Autoweek magazine has highlighted and gathered several programs and advocated for improved teen driver's education. And they have brought light to the fact that teens are allowed on the road without knowing what is necessary to reliably operate a motor vehicle safely, and keep others safe on the road. Inexperience dogs all first-time drivers, but young drivers - and all drivers alike - deserve better.