Is it Worth the Risk?

All teenagers, including myself, are quite enthusiastic about the ability to be able to drive around on our own, drive with our friends, and simply going places without having to be taxied by our parents. This causes our parents to worry, but they worry with good reason. As my driving instructor once told me during my safe driving class, “Driving is the single most dangerous thing you will do in your entire life.” The majority of people do not realize exactly how dangerous it is to send a message, make a call, or speed an extra 10 MPH really is; it is not worth the risk. To be fair, as a 16-year-old myself, I admit I have done my share of phone usage while driving and speeding as well. When my grandmother found out about my behavior, she made me hand write and sign a contract between herself and I. This contract stated that if I were to ever do this again, that I would no longer have keys or my car to drive again.

Why is it so important that teenagers become educated about the risks taken by these simple activities of texting and driving and speeding? Mainly because most teens do not fully understand the true danger, they put themselves and others in, nor devastation that could result from this. I would never want my grandmother to receive a phone call stating of my passing, due to a car wreck caused by my insolence or someone else’s recklessness. If you are a parent reading this, imagine getting that phone call. Not only is it the states responsibility to educate youth about safe driving, it is also largely in the hands of you as parents to educate your children. We teenagers may not admit it but we look up to our parents for support and guidance. Parents talk to your teens about safe driving measures. Initially, teens might realize that the risks they are taking are in fact dangerous, but they do not fully understand the exact extent of how life-threatening it could really be. This lack of understanding is exact reason that all high school students are required to take a safe driving class, to warn and attempt to prevent them from being reckless in the future. However, I personally believe there should be more focus or group discussions in classes about the true hazards involved in distracted and risky driving.

They are an unlimited number of distractions while driving, even more so for teens. Examples of these distractions could be texts messages, phones calls, passengers inside the vehicle, spectacles outside the vehicle, loud music playing on the radio, and sometimes even our own mind can distract us from the road. If you receive a text message whilst driving, wait until you reach your destination before you text back. The person on the other end of the phone will be okay to wait for a response. In the event of the message being urgent or you are getting a phone call, pull over where you can, put your car in park, then you can respond. Other option for safe driving it to put your phone on Do Not Disturb.

I have another personal instance regarding one of these examples, passengers in the vehicle with me while I am driving can sometimes cause me to look away from the road and become unfocused on driving to listen and engage in conversation with my passenger. Those few seconds of my focus being elsewhere can be detrimental to my safety and my passenger’s safety. For this reason, I strive to engage in minimal conversations with passengers. My grandmother had a rule for me, when driving, I was not allowed any passengers for the first six months, this allowed me to stay focused and gain essential driving experience, a smart choice for the safety of all.

Peer pressure: something all teenagers face; most are unbothered by it, and some are like me and do not manage it very well. How can teens including me avoid falling into peer pressure? Well, honestly, it is extremely hard to avoid but the main advice I could give is stand up for what it right, and do not be afraid to offend people. You will offend people throughout your entire life, and there are some who may even be offended at your mere existence, but that is okay. Be yourself and love yourself because there is not another one in the entire world like you. Risking your safety or other’s safety is not worth it, even if others are offended.

There are people even in my closest family that have been in numerous car accidents, thankfully they were mostly unharmed, but that may not always be the case. Car accidents are serious and have strong probability to be fatal. It is so important to educate this generation and future generations of safe driving to minimize the potential for having for having a distracting driving accident.