Safe Driving is for Winners, nobody wants to Lose People

For teens, learning to drive and getting a license is a right of passage and a milestone in our high school journey. Just as all teens do not reach puberty at the exact same time, reaching our driving maturity is also varied. As important as Driver’s Education courses are, timing poses a challenge. Certain individuals will take the instruction to heart and understand the responsibility that goes with driving, while others look at it just as a stepping stone to getting behind the wheel. I feel that driving deaths among teens are primarily from speeding and distractions. Teenagers feel invincible, and with a lack of driving maturity, poor decisions can be made and unfortunate consequences are the result.

Coming up with ideas to counteract these unfortunate consequences among teens is not easy. As such, I turned to those more experienced, and more seasoned as drivers to do some research, my parents. I will never admit my parents are always right, but hearing their thoughts on this topic was enlightening. A few ideas came to me. One thought was to have bumper stickers, similar to the ones that truck drivers have on their vehicles, asking “How am I driving?”. Each parent could register their vehicle and get assigned a unique number, that is then affixed to the vehicle via a bumper sticker. No personal or actual phone numbers would be on the bumper sticker for privacy purposes. If fellow drivers witnesses poor judgement or driving, the witness would be able to post a message that would be tied to that number on the bumper sticker, and as a result, parents tied to that number would be notified. I also feel that having that bumper sticker on the car would act as a deterrent, as the teen driver would know there are eyes out there.

A second thought would be to mandate Volunteer Hours with one of the many organizations out there that work towards Teen Driver Safety. This would hopefully provide a duo benefit. Teens that volunteer with these specialized organizations would hopefully get a firsthand experience via discussions and hearing stories about the results of poor driving habits. This would help the organizations get work done, but hopefully bring about a teen’s driving maturity earlier and reinforce it. Another benefit would be for the teen, as many college bound students are looking for Volunteer hours anyway.

A third idea, was to have or develop some sort of mentor program. This could be established through the school, at local churches or even a part of those private Driving Schools that so many students attend for Driver’s Education. This could be a round table or small group discussion, not a lecture but more importantly real stories and situations that someone has experienced. The key here is that the discussion leaders would NOT be adults but rather someone closer to the attendees ages. This could be Seniors talking to Seniors/Juniors. This makes them more relatable and can hit home more effectively. Once again, the speakers could also gain Volunteer hours for participating.

I’ve fortunately never been involved in an accident, but can remember a very close call. I was a passenger in a car driven by my friend. We were leaving a shopping mall and heading home. We noticed teen girls in another car, and happened to make eye contact. This is where poor decision began to overtake all that Driver’s Education. My friend was trying to showboat and get the attention of the other car. We were wrong on so many levels here. Trying to play tag and keep close proximity to the other car was not wise. Looking back, I am not proud, but feel fortunate and plan to use that experience as a learning moment.

Nowadays, as a driver, I occasionally see makeshift memorials along the roadside and it takes on a whole new meaning. The flowers and candles have probably been there for a long time, but now that I am not a kid just sitting in the backseat, I’ve taken notice of the displays and more importantly what it means and represents. I am not perfect, but the topic of “what can I do to be a better driver” is thought provoking. I plan to heed the warning of my Dad, and put it into practice more. He’s always telling me that “driving begins before you start the car”, and that I should take my temperature before getting into the car. By this, he means I need to check and see how rushed I feel, or my emotional state. I need to plan accordingly and exercise time management skills to make sure I am not driving late, because the tendency at that point is to speed. I also need to examine my state of my mind, you never want to drive angry either. As far as affecting others, I can only think of good dialogue, similar to my earlier suggestion. To carefully speak of my experiences and thoughts on driving, but coming across as a conversation and not a lecture. This is all too important, we all have too much at risk.