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For: Andrea Cheung, 13, Island School
Some teens are extremely apprehensive at the thought of driving, whilst others may be over the moon to finally be able to sit in the driver’s seat. However, it is still essential for schools to offer driving courses, as this skill can be useful and important in adulthood.
Driving is a life skill. Other life skills, such as cooking, are taught in school, but driver’s education is not currently a course that students can sign up for. Schools should take responsibility for teaching this, as they are supposed to prepare you for your future.
Furthermore, providing basic driving lessons at school would be a game-changer for students who can’t afford them. They will have the opportunity to learn to drive for free rather than be forced to pay for expensive lessons outside school.
Learning the basics of driving can help reduce car accidents, which are not uncommon in Hong Kong. According to the Traffic Branch Headquarters, the city recorded 288 fatal and serious injury traffic accidents in just the first seven months of 2025, resulting in 49 fatalities and 272 serious injuries.
Educating students and using a structured driving curriculum to teach them what to do and what not to do will help reduce the number of road accidents each year and ensure they receive the information needed to drive safely.
If students are taught to drive by parents or close friends rather than professionals, they may not learn everything they need to know about driving before hitting the road. Lessons at school can help fill in those information gaps.
Finally, offering driving courses at school encourages students to get a driving licence. These days, students are often overwhelmed by schoolwork and extracurricular activities and find it hard to make time to learn to drive.
While it may not seem important in a city with robust public transport such as Hong Kong, students might eventually decide to attend university in another country or move to a more car-dependent place. Learning to drive now will give them the skills they might need in the future.
Schools should offer driver’s education as it’s an important life skill. Driving makes commuting from different places easier. It is also a great way to give back to your community by driving your neighbours around or giving your siblings a lift.
Against: Valerie Shek, 15, Independent Schools Foundation Academy
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US, not only are motor vehicle crashes the leading cause of death for US teens, but the risk of crashes is higher among teens ages 16–19 than any other age group. In fact, about 2,800 teens in the United States ages 13–19 were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2020 alone.
Although learning to drive at school sounds fun and practical, schools should not offer such courses because they are ineffective at reducing accidents and can be costly.
Public secondary schools should not add such programmes to their mandated curriculum, but rather give students the option to discuss with parents and select courses outside school if they wish.
Firstly, early driver’s education for students does not necessarily lead to safer roads overall.
According to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, there is no convincing evidence that secondary school driver’s education reduces motor vehicle crash rates for young drivers, either at the individual or community level.
Furthermore, there is no proof that secondary school students who complete a driver’s education course have fewer motor vehicle-related crashes or violations than those who do not.
Teenage drivers can be more dangerous because their brains are still developing, especially the prefrontal cortex, which is involved in decision-making.
Because of this, teens may be more prone to reckless driving and risk-taking behaviours like speeding, texting whilst driving and not wearing their seat belts. Allowing them to drive during their secondary school years simply exposes the community to a dangerous situation.
Furthermore, driver’s education courses can be expensive.
Schools would have to hire instructors, purchase vehicles for road tests, and design and build courses for practice – or else find existing routes for student drivers.
Who would pay for these expenses? They are too pricey for most schools to afford and could create an unfair financial burden on struggling families if they were required to pay.
Schools should not offer driver’s education. Instead, it should be something parents decide on and sign up for outside school hours.
