SAN ANTONIO – Driving is something many of us do almost every day. Sitting in traffic and passing bad car crashes has become routine for too many in and around San Antonio.
Local numbers underscore the risk. The San Antonio Police Department reported 6,831 traffic-related calls in just the last seven days, as of Oct. 5, 2025.
Statewide, the Texas Department of Transportation says 251,977 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2024, and another 4,150 people died that year.
“There’s a very high risk of being involved in an accident,” Bryan Nugent, an instructor with Safeway Driving in Schertz, said. Nugent said SafeWay is the oldest driver’s education school in Texas, having been around since 1973.
“[Drivers] don’t realize how risky that is when they’re using the phone while the car is moving, so that phone needs to be down.”
The problem isn’t limited to teenagers. Adults are involved in crashes and cause them, too, which is why Nugent offers driver’s education to both students and adult learners.
“People that just want to brush up on their skills, and we can help with it too,” Nugent said. “We put them through the same training because our system is one that we know is proven, and it actually does reduce your risk of having an accident.”
One of Nugent’s students, Elijah Millender, 28, is taking a course too. He described the value of repeated practice: “really consistently getting behind the wheel and learning the rules of the road.”
Nugent also recommends practical steps drivers can take to protect themselves from others on the road.
“You could be brake checked while you’re driving down the road that dash cam is proof that somebody did something wrong in front of you and that it wasn’t necessarily your fault,” Nugent said.
Ultimately, the takeaway is simple: keep your eyes up, your phone down, and consider professional training, no matter your age. Driver’s education can sharpen skills, reinforce safe habits, and reduce the likelihood of becoming a statistic.
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