A VEHICLE FOR SAFETY
LAWTON – For the past 14 years, many Lawton area families have trusted Wade’s Driving School to teach their teens safe driving habits.
Located at 4135 W. Gore, in Lawton, the school enrolls about 300 new drivers each year, estimates operator and designated examiner Kody Wade. Jerry Wade, owner of the family business, is a former Lawton High School teacher and coach who taught driver’s education classes for Lawton Public Schools for 30 years until the program ended. Retiring from LPS in 2006, he decided to open the school two years later. Now, Jerry and his twin brother, Jeff, still do some of the driving. Jerry’s wife Carla, son Tanner, and Jeff’s son Kody all work together to help new drivers obtain their learner’s permit. Although it is required that students have 10 hours in the classroom and six hours on the road with an instructor before they get their certificate to be exempt from the Department of Public Safety’s permit test, both Kody and Tanner would like to see road instruction time increased.
“Six hours [on the road] is not nearly enough,” Tanner stated. “It’s a good start, but I would rather them do six hours of classroom instruction and 10 hours of driving. That would be a simple fix and it would be much more beneficial.” One of the chief concerns for many is distracted driving. According to an April 2019 report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, teens age 15-19 were responsible for only 6% (3,255) of distracted-driving fatal accidents; drivers 20-29 were the most distracted, holding 23% (12,086). During her first driving day, Wade’s Driving School student Samantha Shady, a junior from Lawton Eisenhower High School, says she understands the importance of being a cautious driver. She echoes Tanner’s advice to “be aware of herself and everybody else.” Tanner explains that most accidents happen at intersections, and drivers should be cautious of cars and pedestrians at intersections. “We’re big on driving defensively,” he touted. “We tell the kids, ‘You can control the vehicle and be the best driver in the world, but if you don’t look out for other drivers, you don’t observe intersections, you’re gonna get in a wreck.’ “You’ve got to focus on what you’re doing because so much can happen in just a little bit of time,” advises Tanner.