The majority of vehicular accidents happen because drivers fail to obey traffic rules. Only a small percentage occur due to mechanical failure. So driving isn’t just about a routine, fun or an obligation, in fact it is about responsibility, and a huge responsibility at that. The driver is solely responsible for the lives of the passengers within the vehicle, including his own. Let us look into the many lessons that a person has to take and pass in a driving school before he or she becomes a licensed driver. The driving school is where it will all start.

Driving School Driver’s Ed

An aspiring driver should sign up at a driving school in order to learn the rules of the road and take driving lessons. The driving school is where the driver gets his driver’s education or more commonly called driver’s ed. Driver’s ed is an organized class or program that is designed to prepare aspiring drivers for obtaining a student driver’s permit or driver’s license. The lessons may take place inside a classroom, in a vehicle like a hands-on training, or a combination of both. Typically it starts in a classroom and then the instructor teaches the student drivers to apply what they’ve learned on the road. The lessons are generally about traffic laws, the basics of operating a vehicle, and some simple troubleshooting (i.e.: how to deal with flat tires, engine stalling, understanding warning lights on the dashboard).

The driver is required to pass all tests; both classroom examination, as well as field demonstrations. The field demo includes various obstacles that simulate what drivers may encounter on the road. Should he or she fail, the driving school will require them to take the exams again until they make it. Although this will not handicap your driving record or be of grave concern, it can delay you in getting your driver’s license. It might also be very important that you pass the tests as soon as possible if your job depends on it, or other matters in your life require you to have a driver’s license. But there really is nothing to worry about, learning to drive is almost as easy as riding a bike and a driving school is very thorough in teaching their students, in fact 95% of students pass the tests successfully.

Some Driving Lessons are Learned at Driving School…
But Most are Learned on the Road

Knowing the traffic rules by heart and following them religiously will help ensure you remain a safe driver. It’s not only you who will benefit from an attitude like this, but other drivers on the streets as well. However, it takes more than just obeying traffic rules and being skilled in driving that will help you survive out there. It is almost certain that at one point or another the driving school may have mentioned to you about defensive driving. In reality you don’t learn defensive driving in driving schools. Or, more accurately, you can’t learn it there. Because a driving school cannot simulate all the situations that you will encounter while driving, there is no defensive driving like the driver’s own intuition to discern beyond the obvious and to predict outcomes by looking at a situation. Defensive driving is your ability to predict certain outcomes and by taking quick initiatives in order to avoid a deadly collision on the road. In other words, you learn defensive driving through actual driving experience. It does help if the driving school pre-conditions your mind about defensive driving to prepare you for the real thing.

Driving School Tips

To give you some ideas on how to master the intuition of defensive driving, keep the following tips in mind:

• Scanning the roadway and adapting to your surroundings
• Speed adjustments at railroad crossings
• Knowing your vehicle’s stopping distance
• Environment hazards
• Vehicle emergencies
• Being aware of reaction distance
• Employing the two-second rule for following distances
• Passing and maintaining necessary clear distance
• Right of way
• Sharing the road

There is nothing like being the best at what you do and since driving is a skill, a learned skill, do your best to be a defensive driver. It’s the only “selfish” act that you can be commended for. The more defensive you are on the road the more lives you may save.