License to Drive

Senior year in high school I got my driver’s license. I could not wait to finally say goodbye to my Muber, mommy Uber, my Duber, daddy Uber and my metrocard. I never really thought about being a safe driver. I just knew that I had wanted to drive for as long as I could remember. My goal in high school was simply to get my license and drive. I could not wait to get behind the wheel of my own car, well my mom’s car. So in junior year I enrolled in Driver’s Education and every week I was learning about statistics of death rates due to unsafe driving. I was shocked to find out that in the United States between 30,000 and 40,000 people die in traffic crashes every year. I realized that I had no idea how dangerous driving could be and how many irresponsible drivers were actually on the roads. I started to second guess myself when it came to driving, hoping that I would never be considered to be a bad driver. I made a commitment to myself to learn as much as I could about unsafe driving so I would never fall into the category of “reckless speed racer” a term my mom uses about 20 times a day, especially when I am in the car with her.

In my driver’s ed class we learned about speeding, inattentive driving, driving under the influence, distracted driving, and texting while driving. Young drivers seem to think they are invincible but quickly start paying attention when shown videos of erratic and reckless driving resulting in injuries and deaths. Driver’s ed will teach you a number of things like rules of the road and safety and how it is our job as responsible drivers is to use them. You will complete the course and participate in some driving lessons but you need to actively practice what you have learned when you are behind the wheel. Driver’s ed will teach you how to understand road signs, prepare you to drive, help you learn the laws, help you to become a defensive driver by understanding and avoiding distractions and overall just make you feel more comfortable behind the wheel as a new driver. Learning how to drive is a time to put your cell phone down, take what you learn seriously and try to remember as much as you can from your Driver’s ed course in order to reduce the unacceptably high number of deaths due to driving.

Preventing accidents might be easier if we know what to do. You have to be realistic when you are driving and most importantly you must have the right attitude behind the wheel. Like I mentioned before most teen drivers think they are invincible. You must maintain a responsible attitude about driving over 4,000 pounds of metal that you need to control at all times. Wear your seat belt, obey traffic laws, drive at a safe speed, keep your radio low and absolutely no texting.

I have never been in a car accident but I have been in the car with someone who was driving irresponsibly, this person is a member of my family. I’m embarrassed to admit it but they were texting while driving. I have spoken to this person about the dangers of this. But I am happy to say that they agreed to sign up for a Defensive Driving Course online and will never do that again after I had a long talk with them. Shouldn’t adults know better? After all aren’t they the ones with all the “experience”?

So in conclusion I will offer some advice from a 17 year old, who has just started driving, on how I think you can be a better and safer driver. Holding your cell phone is a definite no. Keep it away and do not even think about it while you are driving. Keep your music low and make all of your car adjustments before you start to drive. Do not search for anything in your car, all that can wait. You should not eat, drink or hand anything to anyone in your car while you are driving. Do not panic if an insect flies into your car, I’ve seen this happen especially if you are my mom and a bee flies in. Pull over and deal with the situation safely. Keep a positive attitude when driving and always make good choices. Together we can make the roads safer for everyone!