The Road Ahead

Let’s face the reality, teenagers want to drive. It’s a win for both parents and children to have them get a license and here’s why: it doesn’t waste parents’ time, dropping their kids off to school or any other extracurriculars, or even dropping the kids off to a movie hangout with friends. Teenagers have more freedom when it comes to driving, but there is also a loss to this benefit. Since 2019, the fatalities and deaths of, and from teenage drivers have increased 1%-2% in 2 years, and increased to this day. As a teenager, I have heard interesting stories from my friends and classmates who already drive, and have experienced a lost classmate who died in a car crash. So as an 18-year-old who is currently learning how to drive, there is an anxiety lumming in my head, that must be answered. What is the road ahead of me? And is it dangerous?

Driver’s education provides the rules of the road and provides tips and lessons to understand the road. It is required, as a teenager, to get an education about roads and their safety before taking the driver’s test. The lengthy system of taking an educational class, the permit test, six months before your driver’s test, and additionally, 30 hours of instructional driving courses. The process is long, but it’s worth it! 24% of teens who did not finish their driver’s education are most likely to be in a fatal car crash, and 16% of teenagers are most likely to have an accident. In the Nebraska Prevention Center of Drug and Alcohol Abuse at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, students who either took a state-approved driver course or 50 hours of driving under an adult or parent, are less likely to have fewer accidents.

Reducing deaths and accidents can have many solutions. A few of them include reducing drug and alcohol use while driving. In 2021, 13,384 people died in a car accident due to impaired driving because of alcohol. Alcohol takes away the essentials of driving, impaired vision and thinking, muscle coordination, etc. Drugs also have similar effects, including drowsiness, and low awareness. These substances can affect not just teenagers, but everyone. Although it seemed inevitable to stop drunk driving, increasing consequences is a possible solution. WeSaveLives.Org provides some stories, including the threat of repeat offenders. “The perpetrator of the crime was a drunk driver with at least eight prior DUI arrests. For some reason, this ridiculous amount of offenses was still not enough to keep him off the streets.” The solution of increasing the consequences and offenses put in place is a solution to this. People with offenses from drunk driving are still on the road. In California laws, up to 3 DUI charges are known to be misdemeanors. With this knowledge, we can use this to improve California driving laws, including other state laws. Other solutions include awareness of drunk driving, as well as drug use. As well as including more emphasis on driver’s education.

I am an 18-year-old currently learning how to drive, and still in high school. Just as of senior year, I have heard plenty of stories from classmates and friends about driving. And although I am excited to drive, these stories from my classmates and friends have made me worried about driving safety. Including a heart-dropping story and a sudden incident in my fall semester. In the fall semester, after Thanksgiving break, it was a normal day for me. As I walk into my Government class, after break, I sit down, anticipating a simulation or a lecture. There was no looming air of darkness until my Government teacher sat down, telling us that they had received a heart-dropping phone call during the break. Without much detail being displayed, a classmate of mine died in a car crash. I haven’t interacted with this classmate, not that I remember. But suddenly, that dark air came, and the world looked different for me. After the fall semester, I heard more stories and experienced another close story to be told of one of the volunteers in my AVID class in a car crash, severely injured. My world became more vibrant in the world of driving safety. This created a pool of anxiety as it was time for me to start practicing driving. “What if I crash?” To, “What if I’m too slow and the people behind me are mad?” These thoughts loom inside me. This is why I think the required time to practice with an adult and take a driver’s education is very important. I have also seen positives from driving. I have friends who are good drivers. In the end, I get to see different perspectives on driving from my friends. How they experienced their driving tests, driving with them, and going to fun places.

I have taken steps to become a safer driver already as I practice. I make sure to order a sticker saying that I am still new at driving and make sure to review the rules of the road. It is also important that I take my time with this. With my anxieties about driving, I have taken steps to go slow and steady with the road, and by no means am I rushing just to “catch up” with my friends. I care about the road ahead of me, for the sake of others, myself, and my family.