Young Driver Safety

Where I live, in Massachusetts, many people don’t use their “blinkah” to indicate the direction they want to take after a stop, if they don’t roll through the stop sign to begin with. I got my license at 16.5. I took driver’s ed, and because it was during Covid, I wore a mask while driving and while doing my observation hours with other drivers. I don’t know if people who don’t take driver’s ed don’t learn about letting other drivers know which way they want to go, if it’s laziness, or maybe it’s cultural. Another thing I’ve noticed is that people getting on the highway don’t “yield” when there is a yield sign on the on-ramp. Sometimes I have been in the traveling lane and when I’m approaching an on-ramp, I’m afraid someone is going to hit me. I have the right of way according to the rules of the road, but the on-rampers don’t seem to understand this law.

In my state (MA), immigrants can get drivers licenses. I have heard on the news that some of these new drivers are uninsured sometimes driving unregistered cars, causing accidents and even deaths. My parents lament that this is one reason that car insurance rates keep going up. It’s hard for all to afford car insurance, which further emboldens some to go without registering and insuring their cars. Maybe when a bill of sale is made out, a copy should go to the government so that who’s using the vehicle is known.

My own father got into an accident, by not using s directional. No one was hurt, but he paid for that mistake. My mother was irate, and our family car insurance rates went up. He took driver’s ed, a long time ago, and I think he just was being lazy. I think that taking driver’s ed should be mandatory for all ages, not just under 18. Perhaps if they made it mandatory and less expensive, there would be fewer accidents by those newly licensed after the age of 18. My parents paid over $1,000 for my driver’s ed, so that I could drive at 16.5, so that I could help drive my little sister around and get to and from sports and work. For them the cost of early licensure was worth it in terms of convenience, but not every family is as fortunate.

Two things seem to be contributing toward driving related deaths- texting while driving and drinking and driving. I don’t know legally, what can be done. It seems that the police would be pulling everyone over for cell phone use while driving. It is impossible to pay full attention to the road and to type a legible text message. Perhaps some auto technology which would disable the phone when it enters the car, and switches to voice texting through the dashboard, would help? I’m not sure. One idea that I heard about is putting breathalyzer dependent ignitions in all new cars. This idea is good, because it would force those who cannot make safe decisions- make other arrangements to get home.

Two summers ago, a friend who was driving his motorcycle was struck by a drunk driver. It was at 11am in the morning, and the man who hit my friend kept driving and went home. My friend died on the scene. He was wearing a helmet, but it wasn’t enough. The culprit was caught, and he ended up drowning out swimming a year later, a week before his arraignment. This tragedy really changed how my entire school and friends behaved. Watching his family go through this tough time influenced the entire community. Students who drink, made sure that they did not drive afterwards, had a designated driver or stayed where they were. The culture changed not so much out of necessity but out of respect for what the consequences can be and out of respect for our friend. I am lucky to have ride sharing in my area, so there is no reason to get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.

In summation, steps I take to be a better driver, are to drive in accordance with the law. I stop at stop signs- not roll through. I yield when appropriate. I use my directional signal. I don’t text and drive. I wear my seatbelt and I do not drink and drive. I think ultimately, young people like me watch what their parents are doing in the car and emulate it. Perhaps parents need to keep this in mind while they roll through stop signs, text while driving and or fail to yield when merging with traffic.