Brace Yourself, Freedom Ahead

Sitting in the car has been one of my favorite things to do since childhood, carrying through my teenage years and channeling to my future young adulthood. The feeling of staring out of the window, watching as the outside scenery continues to change, no matter how fast or slow the car moves. Having music play in your ears while taking in what is going on outside and the light hum sound as the gas as the car drives. Something about this setting has always been a sort of comfort to me, and as I keep getting older, that does not change. That being said, as my brain matures, I start to realize more and more about the dangers of the road, even if it isn’t up in front of your line of sight.

As an involved student with a working parent, having the privilege to drive was also very important for everything I am a part of. We had been working since the second half of my freshman year in 2022 to get my license, but due to still recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic, other parents had the same idea and it was extremely backed up. In North Carolina, the state I live in currently, there is a long process for teenagers to gain their licenses. You must complete 30 hours of in classroom or online drivers ed, and 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training; These two processes are typically four months apart. Once that is completed, you are able to get a DEC (Driver’s Eligibility Certificate) from your school to take to the DMV to be permitted for a permit test. Plot twist, the DEC’s are only available for a month after being obtained and if they expire, you HAVE to get a new one from your school again. I did not know that during my test. Passing your permit test allows you to drive with a Permitted Driver’s License, only able to drive with an adult who has had a license for more than five years, gaining the required 60 hours of driving in the process and for a required minimum of nine months. Once all of that is checked for completion, and you are not 18 yet, you have the ability to get your Secondary License, driving between the hours of 5:00 am-9:00 pm.

As stated above, it is an EXTREMELY long process to get that ability to freely drive, and though it may come off as tedious, it is very necessary for not just the safety of the driver, but for others on the road. Something that I have always been told when I began to learn to drive was that driving was a privilege, not a right; which can be taken in a few different contexts in my opinion. But ultimately, it leads to the biggest factor, keeping yourself and other drivers safe while behind the wheel. Everytime you are driving, whether it is a two minute drive or a twenty minute drive, you immediately put your life at risk, because anything can happen in less than one second while you are driving. Those instances are what we are taught in driver’s education, as it teaches us how to safely evade those situations becoming our own reality.

The steps that are given by instructors to keep us and others safe really only goes so far, as there is also a responsibility for how the parent wants to proceed to prioritize the safety for their teenager driving. For example, I personally was told by my parents to avoid driving on the busy main roads during rush hour traffic, so the hours between 4:00 pm-6:00 pm. This is not to ban me from those roads, but until I become an improved driver, to avoid that road for my safety and I do not get nervous or afraid on such a busy street with irritated drivers who are trying to push their way home. This is something that I think many parents should encourage, as their child gets more familiar on the road then busier streets can be more open to them, but in the beginning, should try to restrict it for the first little bit. I personally have never been involved in any type of accident with a friend or family member, but I have witnessed reckless driving when a driver kept constantly swerving through the lanes, while driving past the speed limit. I did have a moment of panic when this happened, and did not go out to drive for the rest of that day, even though I needed to run myself a few errands. I was too afraid of coming across a driver like that and did what was best for me.

The steps I have been taking to be safe on the road have been to always remind myself that when I am on the road, there are multiple lives, including mine, at some form of a risk. I remember that there is a reason that I have my license, because I proved myself cautious enough to be able to drive around on my own, and that privilege should not be taken advantage of. Finally, I remember I must beware of the journey ahead of me, that it might be freeing, but at the end of the day, I have to brace myself for the future possibilities and opportunities that come with solo driving.