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67Haleigh Merrill
Mrs. DeBock
10 November 2016
English 4 Honors
Service Research Paper
Before a driver can get a license they must take a driving course to learn the basics.
Driving courses are designed to prepare new drivers for the road to create a safer driving
environment for everyone on the road. Classes built to train defensive driving will allow drivers
to react correctly to many unpredictable situations.
Defensive driving courses teach many great points on how to be a safer driver.
Sometimes it is forgotten to be cautious of others on the road, automatically assuming that other
will stop when they are supposed to or just follow the road rules, but that is incorrect. As a good
driver, one thing that should be done is looking both ways before ever moving the vehicle, even
if you have the right of way. In this article, John states, "I was at an intersection, the traffic lights
turned green and a guy was running a red light," he says. "If I hadn't looked both ways before
taking off that night, as we were taught on the course, I would have ended up having an accident
on the driver's side." This goes to prove that no matter what, always alert and pay attention to
other drivers that may not be paying attention. Not only do the defensive driving courses open
eyes up to what is happening, but the courses also opens up not only teens eyes, but to adults as
well. In Sydneys article she states, Twenty-year-old Rebecca Corven, of Eastwood, feels more
confident after completing a similar course with Driver Skills Australia. Not only do these
classes open up eyes when it comes to driving, but it also makes one feel more safer, and more
confident when driving. Once in awhile it is always good to get a refresher on how to drive

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safely. That is why these safe driving courses are good to take because it opens up the mind and
refreshes the brain on how to properly drive. In this article, Toole states, Mark Toole, an
instructor with NRMA Safer Driving Schools, which runs refresher lessons, says research
suggests the longer drivers stay in an educational environment, the safer they are. Not only does
it refresh the mind, but it just helps so that all drivers are up to date on how to drive so it makes
driving safer for everyone. Just because someone is taking a defensive driving class does not
mean that they are a bad driver, it is just to protect everyone on the roads.
Sometimes us as humans are forced to make quick decisions while driving, which may
result in various consequences. In this article, it states, The Advanced Driving Centre (ADC)
has just introduced a much-needed special training program designed to equip young drivers
better to handle instant decisions and emergencies. I believe that this would be a great program
to put young drivers in because it allows them to learn how to make good quick decisions. If we
were not good at making good quick decisions then that could turn into an accident. For
example, if a car was to stop suddenly then a trigger in the brain needs to go off immediately
telling you to stop the car. Being under the influence of anything makes it extremely difficult to
function the car like normal when being sober. This article states, The under-25 course includes
a briefing on the effects of drugs and alcohol on driving performance, the difficulties in handling
peer-group pressure, understanding a car's limitations, the realities about speed, and how to select
the right car. I believe that this course would be great for young people to take so it allows them
to see how hard it would actually be to operate a car and allow them to get the experience of it.
Most people do not believe that young drivers should be allowed to get their license. Older and
more experienced drivers believe that they should wait a longer time to be able to drive. "Also,
long-term drivers believe that new drivers are not really in control of the car and that the licence

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system does not give them enough experience on the road." This quote shows that in order to
become well enough to drive on the roads, they should be taught more before given the
opportunity to drive by themselves.
If there was a better way to get drivers around the world to take defensive driving courses
then i definitely believe that we should push for it. I believe that larger companies that have truck
drivers transporting their items for them should most definitely have them take defensive driving
courses to prevent reckless driving on the roads. If there was a program that paid companies to
get their drivers to take defensive driving courses to better their driving then i think that would
be an amazing idea. That is why i believe that the idea in this article is such a great idea. In this
article, it states, A Victorian transport company has cut its fuel costs by $25 a truck each week
since it put its drivers through a defensive driving course run by the Driver Education Centre of
Australia (DECA). This is such a great idea because not only does it allow drivers to be more
informed on how to drive safely and cautiously, but it alost benefits the company by giving them
twenty-five dollars for fuel each week just for taking a defensive driving course. The classes for
defensive driving do not take long at all to complete and yet they are so beneficial. Another quote
in this article that supports my statement is, A half-day group theory session was held at Van
Berkel's depot and an instructor spent a day with each driver in the cab of his truck as he went
about his daily work. So this quotes proves that it takes no time to become a safer driver.
Sometimes defensive driving skills can do a whole lot more for you than just teach one how to
drive better. In this article it states, Van Berkel operations manager Glenn Chapman said the
DECA course had reinforced the company's belief in one driver - one truck and driver
responsibility for daily and weekly checks and reporting of defects. It is always best to go the
extra step to become a better driver to not only protect yourself, but others around you.

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Driving is a very serious matter. Most people do not take driving as serious as it should
be taken. Nowadays drivers think that their driving will not kill anyone or that they are driving
great but not really seeing how they truly drive. One example of reckless driving would be how
teenagers and adults are texting and driving. Wilson states, Jun. 29--Starting next school year,
Johnston County Schools is requiring students who want to purchase a high school parking pass
to show proof they have completed a defensive driving course. This course is being added to
their requirements because there are so many teens dying due to poor driving skills and schools
want to put an end to it. In this article Wilson also makes a statement saying, Students taking the
course this summer are mainly rising juniors and seniors who already had their driver's license
prior to the school district implementing its new "Because We Care" teen driving program. This
is because most of their drivers have been driving for a while and the student drivers need a
refreshment on how their driving should be. I believe that all schools should require their junior
and senior students to attend a driving course class in order to be able to drive because then they
would want to take the class to be able to drive to school. The amount of teen deaths are rising
due to poor attention to the road and reckless driving. For example, Wilson mentions, Johnston
County Schools has lost 28 students in traffic accidents, making it one of the highest counties in
the state for teen fatalities over that time period. This proves that students can not drive due to
many reasons. Reckless driving is a serious matter that students and teens are not taking
seriously which might end up being deadly to them.
Secondly, teens are not wanting to take the defensive driving courses because they think

that they will be boring and long. In Sandra Thompsons article a student stated, I expected the
worst: Four hours of stultifying preaching and instruction on traffic rules I learned in high
school. This proves that most students do not want to take classes that will benefit their driving

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due to assumption that the course will be time consuming and not interesting. The defensive
driving course also brings attention to the fact that driving is a very serious thing and that you
have to be very cautious no matter what but we have become so used to driving that we do not
really see what we are doing wrong. In Thompsons article she states, We treat the driver's seat
like our living room couch: reading, eating, talking on the phone, fumbling with our CD players.
We drive so much we have totally forgotten what we're doing - piloting a huge, deadly vehicle
around streets slicked with oil, filled with other huge, deadly vehicles, littered with tree limbs
and old mattresses and bordered with building walls and concrete barricades. And we drive as
fast as we can. In this statement it proves that we have become so used to driving that we do not
realize that us as drivers start to turn driving into a not so serious matter by texting and talking,
and doing so many things that are so distracting to us. Drivers like to be the fastest driver and do
not like when other driver try to pass them. Another statement made in this article by Thompson
was, We get into head games with other drivers. Say, on the highway when someone rides right
up our tail, instead of moving over into another lane, we hold fast, keep to our speed, sometimes
even slow down. In this statement it shows that drivers do not like to be the slow one on the
road so when someone tries to pass them then they feel the need to speed up and be the faster
driver. This is another example of reckless driving.
Sometimes defensive driving courses do not offer all that needs to be taught to new
upcoming drivers in order to provide full safety. In this article it states, Driving on the road
requires a lot of things which many driving schools do not impart to the drivers. The Road Safety
Council should make sure they consider only drivers from competent institutions if we are to
reduce the life and property loss on the road. In order to be a safe driver we all have to be taught
right from wrong, so if we are not taught how to drive properly then how are we supposed to

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know how to drive the correct way. In order to be considered a defensive driver, it requires full
attention to driving, and awareness of all people around you at all times. Another statement from
this article supports that by stating, Defensive driving emphasizes extra carefulness on the road,
driver discipline, and equips the drivers with skills to protect life and property. This quote
supports my statement because it shows that in order to be a defensive driver it requires extra
care when driving and there are a lot of skills that have to be done in order to be considered a
defensive driver. Most drivers that are new and did not learn all that they were supposed to learn
can not handle the vehicle and the rules that are supposed to come with driving. Tashobya states,
Competent driving should combine ability to handle the vehicle and road discipline. Most
drivers nowadays can not handle driving with all of the rules that come with it so they should not
be allowed to drive on the roads. This puts harm to not only the person who is driving but also to
all other vehicles on the road.
Driving classes are extremely important for many reasons including, it teaches how to
react fast, the negatives of driving under the influence, how to be prepared in general. Classes
built to train defensive driving will allow drivers to react correctly to many unpredictable
situations.

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Works Cited
"A lesson in confidence." Sun-Herald [Sydney, Australia] 18 Jan. 2009: 3. Opposing Viewpoints
in Context. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.
"More expert help for young drivers." Age [Melbourne, Australia] 24 July 1997: 13. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.
"PROGRAM CUTS COSTS." Sun-Herald [Sydney, Australia] 4 July 1993: 60. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.
"Reducing teen driving deaths: Johnston County students must pass extra driving course in order
to drive to school." Wilson Daily Times [Wilson, NC] 29 June 2009. Opposing Viewpoints
in Context. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.
Thompson, Sandra. "Reasonable people, but not behind wheel." St. Petersburg Times [St.
Petersburg, FL] 10 Mar. 2001: 1B. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

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"Tighten Driving License Requirements - UCTU." Africa News Service 23 Feb. 2005. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.