One more step away from Death’s doorstep

Driving is a privilege that is strung along with responsibility and commitment. With the advancements of modern-day technology, it is important to learn how to use this technology for the safety of others and ourselves. Learning the way of the road is pivotal towards reducing the deaths from driving. Teenagers especially. Teenagers are 4x more likely to crash than those 20 years old and older. Just imagine a world where every child learns the basics of road safety long before they ever get behind the wheel. This vision is not only ideal but achievable through early education and role modeling. So why not start teaching before that teen can even obtain a permit?

There are multiple little steps that can be practiced helping give teenagers a head start before they start driving. The first step that I consider to be essential before kids get behind the wheel is to be the role model. My father always followed the simplest of rules that many adults fail to follow. He put his seatbelt on. And no, it wasn’t because of the annoying and endless beeping the car beeped until he did. It was because it only took 2 seconds to potentially save a life in the case of a car accident. My father is the reason why I always tell my one-minute older brother to put his seatbelt on, despite his moans and groans that always follow. I’d much rather be accompanied by moans and groans than the empty sounds of the wind. My father also put away all distractions such as his phone. I noticed how he would always put his phone on silent. He even faced his phone down so that when he did receive a notification, the light from his phone turning on wouldn’t tempt him to see what the notification was. It was a simple yet so effective technique that I will carry with me. Again, my father is the reason why I told my brother to create a playlist when driving to stop him from constantly tapping the skip button on his phone when he drove.

The next step is learning even the most basic of names, signs, and motor skills necessary for safe driving. This can be done though games. Mario Kart for instance. Although it may not be all that effective, it can contribute to the basic developments necessary for driving such as hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and even strategic thinking. My brother and I used to always play Mario Kart. It was a game that we truly bonded over…and fought over due to my brother that has always strived to be the winner of everything. Little did we know how much help that Wii steering wheel cover that we put on our Wii remotes did for us. We didn’t just race to the finish line. We learned the perfect angles to tilt the steering wheel in order to follow and stay on the track. We learned to stay focused by expecting obstacles and other drivers we raced with. I learned how to react to the banana peels my brother left in my path as he zoomed past me. He learned how to maneuver his vehicle to avoid the green shells I threw at him as I was always behind him. These fun things marked the beginning of learning how to drive safely and cautiously.

The last step develops awareness and responsibility of driving and that is discussing the consequences of unsafe driving, both long-term and short-term consequences. My mother, being the vigilant woman she is, always discussed the natural consequences and the logical consequences of our actions along with the differences between the two. Although I didn’t really take our conservations about consequences seriously at the time, they instilled empathy in my heart, moral values in my soul, and accountability in my decision-making. These strengths prepared me to make the best decisions for the safety of myself and the people around me, especially on the road.

Now as I sit typing my essay in the comfort of my couch, my brother is out taking his driving test. While he can be stubborn at times—both positively and negatively—his driving journey has been filled with valuable lessons. He’s made mistakes on the road, as have I. He’s made silly mistakes such forgetting to put the car back into drive from reversing from back out of his parking in an empty parking lot. He has also made a lot more dangerous mistakes such as turning left at a red light because he thought turning right at a red light was the same as turning left at a red light. Ironically, I was grateful for being in his presence as he made these mistakes for both my brother and I learned a couple of things. It has shown us the value of patience. It has demonstrated to my brother that learning to drive is a skill developed over time and that these mistakes are helping him grow to become a better driver. As he takes his test today, I am confident in saying that the experiences we shared together have prepared him well as I know he is taking his test with the same determination and skills that have characterized his driving journey.