Driving as told by Spider Man

Teenagers are often excited to get their license because they believe it marks the beginning of a new freedom for them, I know I did, but as Uncle Ben said, “with great power comes great responsibility.” This may be an overused proverb, but its significance and weight still holds true in the context of driving. Driving is a privilege, and when given a privilege, there is always the need for responsibility. When it comes to the privilege of driving, it is necessary to bear the responsibility of driving safely and keeping yourself and others out of harm’s way.

On the road, you’re surrounded by a wide variety of drivers: new drivers, old drivers, scared drivers, overconfident drivers. The irony is that newer drivers tend to be some of the most overconfident drivers. For this reason, older (and wiser) drivers tend to be scared of teenagers because teenagers are more inclined to be involved in crashes and reckless driving. This is where the importance of Driver’s Education comes in.

Driver’s Education prepares you for driving in the real world. When practicing with a parent or older sibling, you lose the substance and simulation of driving in the real world. You’re sheltered from busy roads and rush hour on the highway, where you may have to brake instantly to avoid an accident. You’re not as aware of other cars on the road, because you still think that you have the world all to yourself. You’re not as confident in your skills, because your mom tells you to turn right, instead of you having both a GPS and driving to focus on.

Driver’s Ed accounts for these discrepancies in teaching.

When it comes to driving, teenagers can be easily distracted; they may try to race their friends on the highway, check their phone for texts and switch music, and ultimately place themselves in dangerous situations.

Teens with especially flashy cars like showing off, I was nearly involved in an accident with a Corvette because the driver was – you guessed it – a teenager, swerving in and out of lanes. Had I not put a sizable distance between myself and the reckless driver in front of me, it is likely that I would have ended up with a destroyed bumper, and higher insurance to pay.

Driving in the parking lot with your dad doesn’t prepare you for this.

You may practice parallel parking at night when no one’s outside, but in the middle of New York City it isn’t possible to take your time. Your driving must adapt to its environment. Driving with your older sibling doesn’t prepare you for this.

This isn’t to discredit the importance of driving with family, as it is important to start from a baseline and work your way into driving alongside other people, but Driver’s Ed gives you a real-world lesson on how to drive with others being on the road.

Everybody loves music, but not everyone has Spotify Premium, and even those who do are guilty of changing songs. While sitting in the passenger seat of my own friend’s car, she would often skip songs while we were at red lights. I hurriedly took her phone from her, and insisted that she pay attention to the road: even if we were stopped.

One lesson that has stuck with me from video interviews in Driver’s Ed, even to this day, is that two seconds of phone time is not worth two years of your life. Hearing advice like this from your dad may not convince you, because you believe that you can make the light before it turns red. Hearing advice like this may not convince you, because you believe that you can send a text message fast enough before braking. Ashamedly, I may have even thought this way at one point, but receiving advice like this from other teenagers whose lives have been undeniably changed can shift your whole perspective. Driver’s Ed is necessary in order to build the fundamentals of safe driving; however, not everyone has access to these classes.

Some people are unable to take Driver’s Education because they can’t afford the costs of it, hence why they wait until they are eighteen. Recently, this policy was changed where I live, and if you’re under twenty one, you are now required to take these lessons. This policy may deter people from Driver’s Ed even more, and may prompt people to start driving unlicensed. I believe that there should be fee waivers, or a way to sponsor free classes through school districts, so that people unable to pay five hundred dollars will have the opportunity to educate themselves on the importance of safe driving.

Parents need to encourage their teens to not only just take Driver’s Education, but also to take it seriously and implement those lessons learned into their lives. Communities need to band together to find a way to make these lessons more accessible to the teenagers of their community. Teens who are privileged enough to have access to these lessons need to be vigilant, and those not able to take Driver’s Education can try finding ways to rally community support for these classes.

By implementing these procedures, I believe that safer driving and taking Driver’s Ed courses will become the norm, and this great privilege of driving will be accompanied by immense amounts of responsibility.