Teen Driving Doesn’t Have to Be an Accident Waiting to Happen

When I first got my 2005 Toyota Corolla, the first thing my dad said to me was, “Every time you drive this, you are in control of a 2,000-pound killing machine if you are not careful. You have a 2,000-pound weapon. People don’t think about that.” If that wasn’t eye-opening enough, the car ride I went on with my friend, where we almost crashed, was, but I’ll get to that story later. Those 2 sentences that my dad casually said to me made me realize that, as a newly qualified teenage driver, there were many things I had to consider and be cautious of each time I got behind the wheel. These thoughts and mental checklists I kept in my brain each time I drove reminded me that teen driver safety is such a crucial public issue because it can be easier for teens to make a mistake while driving due to their limited driving experience. Once you get your driver’s license at 16, you may feel invincible and on top of the world, but you can easily fall if you don’t take the right precautions. During the first few weeks of driving, I realized that even though I may have dreaded Driver’s Ed, it solidified many safety tips and important road rules that stuck in my head and helped prevent various accidents. 

The teenage driver population can face many obstacles that threaten their driving experiences. An obstacle that numerous teens face while driving, one that I have been guilty of, is their phones. Picture this: you’re driving along, with the radio turned up, and your phone ringer is on. Maybe you decide that the song that is playing is not to your liking right now, so you decide to grab your phone and skip. Or maybe you hear your phone ring a notification from Instagram, and you want to check quickly what it is. These actions may seem harmless in the moment, but one look down at your phone and not on the road can cause you irreversible consequences. To fix this problem, it is smart to have a designated spot in your car for your phone that reminds you it should stay untouched until you are no longer driving the vehicle. Some spots could be in your glove compartment, or a phone stand that is suctioned to your windshield for your GPS. Another problem that teens may face while driving is distractions within the car, such as other passengers. Peer pressure, as we know, can cause many problems. Sometimes, there can be a passenger in the car who is telling the driver to “Go faster! Go Faster!” Or maybe a passenger in the back seat chooses to be annoying and constantly kicks the driver’s seat. These actions can also easily cause harm to everyone in the vehicle. To solve this problem, the driver can set boundaries and say to their passengers that by being the driver, they themselves are held responsible for multiple lives, and their license can easily be suspended for stupid peer pressure decisions. Another challenge teens face is one we never want to hear about: drunk driving. Even though teens should not be intoxicated and drive under the influence, this situation still sadly occurs. In this case, it is always important to have a designated driver who stays sober and safely transports their friends.

I’ll never forget the time I drove to a beach near Orlando with one of my good friends; I kind of wish I could forget some of it if I’m being honest. We took my friend’s car, so I was nice and comfortable in the passenger seat. I took a long nap and started to wake up, only to notice that we were on a bridge. I hate bridges, especially the one we were on, because it was over water. As I was waking up, I realized this circumstance, and then I looked over at my friend who had one hand on the wheel, and the other holding her phone as she was texting someone. I looked out to the road, and I noticed that there was traffic ahead that was coming to a halt. I didn’t think much of it, because that just meant that we would gradually come to a halt as well- or so I thought. I looked back at my friend, who was still on her phone, going the same speed, which was around 50 miles per hour. The stopped traffic came closer and closer, and my friend was still on her phone. Naturally, I yelled in a panic at her to slow down. This finally caught her attention, and she immediately came to a stop. I had a bruise on my chest for the next few days from my seat belt holding me back as we came to a rapid stop because of the close distance from the car in front of us. This only made me more aware of the dangers of texting and driving and reminded me that I should always be cautious and focused when I am driving, especially on long trips where it is easier to doze off and not pay attention to the danger-prone road in front of me. 

In conclusion, no matter how big or small the trip, it is always important to be 100% alert every time you get behind the wheel. Many teenagers feel as though they are invincible and believe that nothing can stop them, but driving carelessly can result in the most horrible outcomes. Different actions can be taken to prevent these dangerous situations and enlighten young drivers about the importance of driver safety. One action that I believe would be very effective is having guest speakers share their serious stories of experiences that occurred to them as youthful drivers, because they were not careful enough on the road. This could be through high school field trips, or high schools could even host these guest speakers to speak at assemblies. This gives young teenagers the only option of listening to these real-life stories, which will open their eyes and reveal to them that it is not worth it to drive unsafely, as it can easily cause extreme harm to innocent lives.