My heart goes out to the families of the two youths lost over last weekend - one in a tragic accident and the other gunned down in his own home.
My wish is that our state would implement a mandatory class in our public schools teaching Drivers' Education and Character.
The Drivers' Education class could be patterned after the Joshua Law in the state of Georgia. It teaches the dangers of speed, following vehicles too close, not paying attention, taking unnecessary risks and the necessity of wearing seat belts.
Tennessee could add to that same class Character Education. This could teach our youths to be decent and respectful to one another and to their elders. This needs to be done as our culture is rapidly declining.
Judge Russell Bean
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I agree with Judge Bean 100 percent. School boards most often say that there is no money in the budget for drivers education and other types of classes are more important. If you look at how many people are in high school and calculate the costs in insurance to their families, and themselves, till they are 25, the cost of not having that driver education certificate is immense. However, add up the total savings for the student and family with a DE discount over that 10 year period and it is immense, also.
Now to the rubber meeting the road segment. The whole community reaps rewards when that community has drivers education. The less wrecks, deaths, injuries and just plain losses for an area, the less everyone's insurance is, that is the way works.
Then you have the sorrow, crippling injuries and death associated with teenage drivers, it is the number one cause of death in teens. Now what it more important than our children being safe on the road, going by the stats, nothing. Now when a teen is on the road they are not in a bubble, they are not the only ones in danger, nope, everyone on those roads are in the same danger along with any passengers riding with the teen. So when a community invests in drivers education it is an investment that is priceless, literally, for everyone.
They took it out of Marion County schools for a few years, the accident rate and sadly, deaths, among students rose dramatically. That had to change. A new school board was elected and their votes swayed away from some foo-foo courses to one of life saving and economical advantage for everyone. Priceless.
Joe Blevins