How Many More Headlines Before We Change?

“Suburban high school senior killed in car crash hours after prom.”

“Two teenage boys are dead and a third remains hospitalized after a high-speed crash.”

“A 19-year-old woman lost her life, while her 22-year-old friend sustained severe injuries, after their car crashed into a divider.”

Headlines such as these hardly surprise anyone at all anymore. Since they appear often enough, most of us now read them like weather updates. The scariest part is how quickly we become desensitized to these. We should be asking ourselves how many times something has to happen before we stop being affected by it.

In my 20 years of life, I never felt safe walking across a road. Even to this day, I still hesitate before crossing due to the headlines that never really left my mind. And this fear didn’t come from a failed traffic light or broken sidewalk. It came from the person steering the wheel. And behind that wheel could be an inexperienced teen driver recklessly driving or simply a frustrated person speeding up, to whom urgency outweighs the value of a humanlife.

The tragic news of car accidents involving young drivers, especially teenagers, has become all too familiar. But I never imagined that in 2023, I would find a name in one of those headlines that I recognized. It was a classmate. Someone I sat next to in class and even did a group project with once. He died in a horrific crash late one Monday night. His car had been driving at an extremely high speed along the highway when it launched over a concrete ramp, landed in a ditch, and slammed into another concrete wall before bursting into flames. Following the incident, our school and community rallied and held awareness campaigns, almost in a frantic effort to ensure no one else would become the next name in a headline. But as time passed, the urgency faded. And without close monitoring, everyone returned to their old habits of speeding and bypassing. Real change, it seems, is impossible when those behind the wheel refuse to change themselves.

The rate of teen driving accidents has been higher than adults for decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teenagers, accounting for nearly a third of all deaths in this age group. In fact, in 2021, over 2,100 teen drivers were killed in traffic crashes, marking an alarming 11% increase from the year before.

And if we ask ourselves what makes teen drivers so vulnerable, we find that the answer lies in a combination of factors, including inexperience, poor decision-making, distractions, and, of course, the lack of comprehensive driver education.

Teenagers are also likely to engage in risky driving behaviors, such as speeding, driving under the influence, or not wearing seat belts. These reckless decisions most of the time come from a combination of peer pressure, impulsivity, and an underestimation of the consequences.

Teen drivers are, by definition, inexperienced. Their ability to react to unexpected situations is still developing. This lack of experience is frequently compounded by a sense of invincibility, which is a common characteristic in adolescence. According to research, teen drivers are especially susceptible to distractions. The most obvious of these is texting while driving, a behavior that has become a national epidemic. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported that teens are four times more likely to crash if they’re texting behind the wheel. Peer influence is also a major factor in teen driving behavior. In a study for Traffic Safety, 72% of teens admitted to driving in a way they felt was unsafe when they were with friends, simply because their peers encouraged it. The presence of multiple passengers also significantly increases the risk of an accident. In fact, research shows that a teen’s crash risk doubles when they have one peer passenger, and it increases even more with two or more passengers. These reckless decisions most of the time come from impulsivity, an underestimation of the consequences or simply from the desire to show off can divert a teen’s attention from the road.

Something as basic as a simple seatbelt can reduce the risk of death by 50%, yet so many teens still ignore it. It’s all avoidable, but people still ignore these basic responsibilities, which stem from a lack of discipline, enforcement, and education.

If we accept that every death on the road is preventable, then half-measures won’t do.

To make that possible, we need a system that enforces drivers’ education before anyone is handed a license. Driver ed is non-negotiable when it comes to teen driver safety. Studies consistently show that teens who undergo formal driver education are less likely to be involved in crashes compared to those who don’t. Driver’s ed programs teach more than just the basics and instill a sense of responsibility and provide critical information on handling hazardous situations, driving defensively, and understanding the laws of the road.

Along with drivers education, communities and schools play an essential role in creating a culture of responsible driving. Many organizations have developed programs specifically targeting young drivers to raise awareness about the dangers of risky driving behavior. One such organization, DMVedu, launched the “Driver Education Initiative Award” to encourage students to reflect on the importance of being safe, educated drivers.

Perhaps the most overlooked aspect of teen driver safety is the role of parents. Parents are in the unique position of influencing their teen’s driving habits through supervision, role modeling, and reinforcement. Parents should also lead by example. Teens are more likely to adopt safe driving behaviors if they see their parents practicing them. A study found that teens who had regular conversations with their parents about safe driving were 50% less likely to engage in dangerous behaviors like speeding or texting while driving.

I haven’t been in a car crash myself, and I count that as a privilege, But I’ve witnessed loved ones engage in habits that quietly court disaster. A friend changing lanes without a signal. My uncle casually texting while cruising down a crowded highway. Moments like these made me realize that danger on the road rarely announces itself. It slips in through casual shortcuts and misplaced confidence.

Recognizing these risks has changed the way I think about driving. To be a safer driver, I’ll invest in a comprehensive driver education course, and I’ll encourage those around my age to do the same. I wish to gain a deeper understanding of the rules and learn how different weather conditions affect brakes and reaction time. I’ll obey speed limits because, after reading all of these headlines, I now know how quickly a life can be taken. I’ll make sure every person in the car wears their seatbelt before the engine is turned on. I’ll put my phone in the glove compartment, out of reach. And I’ll hold my friends and family accountable too because if I sit silently while they drive recklessly, I become complicit in the danger.

Headlines about car accidents aren’t just numbers. They’re stories of lives changed or lost in an instant. Behind each statistic is someone like my friend Ryan, who never made it back home due to reckless driving. It’s time we stop treating safe driving as optional and start seeing it as a shared responsibility.

Because really — how many more headlines before we change?