Rules of the Road

The number of teen drivers is constantly increasing, and many states are beginning to lower the legal driving age. One example is Kentucky, which just passed a bill that now allows youth to begin driving at fifteen years old. The reason that this becomes a safety issue is that there is now more drivers and cars on the road, and many young and inexperienced drivers lack the proper decision-making capability required when the situation on the road or quality of weather becomes poor. The need for drivers’ education rises with the crisis. The purpose of the training should be to emulate as many common, day-to-day issues a driver will likely experience so that when young drivers encounter them in the real world, they are prepared to respond in the best way possible. This requires both head knowledge, knowing what to do, and practical knowledge, having experienced a comparable situation so that they have practiced what must be done.

With this increase in young teen drivers, there is likely to be an increase in teen related accidents. But how can this be reduced? My answer is a more robust instructional requirement, and increased difficulty in driver’s education testing. While this may sound harsh, or as if I did not want teens to be able to drive, my aim is to allow prepared teens to drive, so that everyone is safer in the end. I think driver’s ed classes teaching the rules of the road should be implemented in high schools starting the freshman year, so that by the time the students are in their junior year, they are plenty prepared for the road.

The number one challenge that teen drivers face is that of distration due to cellphones. While this issue is by no means exclusive to young drivers, they are much more likely to be the offenders of this violation. They are so attached to their cellphones that they are not willing to put them down, even while driving. While it is impossible to entirely prevent the use of cellphones while driving, it can be deterred by teaching the risks, and enforcement of laws that prohibit the use of cellphones. This would mean that law enforcement officers would have to be promoted to pull over drivers on their phones and issue a ticket. When the offence incurs a penalty, many people are less willing to take the risk, resulting in safer driving. Peer pressure, and general recklessness standard to young high schoolers also poses a greater risk of harm to the teens behind the wheel and everyone in the vicinity. Again, the best option is to increase enforcement of preexisting laws, and the potential increase of punishment for violation of those laws. This thinking stems from the fact that peace is best achieved through strength. If breaking the law guarantees a punishment, then most would avoid breaking the law.

An experience that I have had involves almost being involved in a crash due to a teen driver. I had been driving down the road when a teen driver quickly pulled to a stop sign, failed to fully stop, and proceeded to turn right in front of me. The two habits that I saw to be lacking were stop sign discipline, meaning that the young driver did not fully stop as they were supposed to, and the second was a lack of attentiveness, as they failed to look before continuing forward, this was apparent by the look of shock on their face, as if they were surprised by me, though they would have had a clear line of sight had they looked left before moving.

In conclusion, every teen is fully responsible for their own actions once they take command of the car. But this does not mean that they should be left to figure everything out on their own. Teens need to constantly practice proper driving techniques at the beginning, making sure to always check intersections, coming to complete stops, obeying traffic signs, and using their mirrors to be aware, so that they no longer need to think about doing these things. Once they become habits, the driver is freer to pay attention to the other aspects of driving. The school is responsible for making sure that teens know what the driviving law are, what road signs mean, and how to best drive to be safe and responsible members of the community. Lastly, outside members of the community must make sure that they are following the traffic laws and are driving properly so that they can be an example to the next generation and provide the safest learning environment for inexperienced drivers.