Growth comes with observing and reflecting

Getting your driver’s license is one of the most exciting milestones in a teen’s life. But with this new freedom comes great responsibility. Teen driver safety is a significant public issue because Traffic crashes are still a leading cause of death for teens. Driver’s education instills a learning of consequences and how to be a safe driver. Upon taking the class and passing, it proves that we teens know better, so what’s the issue?

A big challenge teens face is acceptance. Today, there is a massive culture of being different, but everyone’s different seems the same. As teens, we crave constant validation. That need doesn’t turn off when we’re driving. Sometimes driving becomes another way to prove something to the world. We don’t always think about the danger because we tend to get caught up in the performance of it all.

Two months after I received my license, I was issued a speeding ticket. I thought it was cool to drive like I had a “hellcat,” or it’s cool to be the fastest driver out on the road, the slow ones wish they could be me, and so on. My father said Thank God you got a ticket, cause I probably could’ve died or gotten into an accident. I felt so unsupported because my license was going to be suspended, and I still had three months left of school. It was freezing outside, and I despised the bus. I was a senior in high school as well, so I found it embarrassing to take the bus. And in physics class, one kid commented how he doesn’t speed, and when they asked why, he said it was illegal. I was in so much despair during my seasons of trial before the suspension. I truly faced the consequences of my actions and saw how foolish I was for thinking driving cool was reckless. And the idea of losing people’s trust when it comes to driving. All these expectations weighed heavily on me. I am grateful for it all, because it has truly instilled a strong sense of understanding of consequences. I now view driving differently, not as something I’m entitled to, but as something I have to respect.

I am strongly against driving under the influence. In Vermont, everything is far away. Most teens drive to the beach, drink, and then drive home. I’ve been observing this over the summer, and the thought of that scares me immensely. I am now 18 years old. I knew about this when I was 16, but the context of the weight of death and the price of your actions wasn’t so clear then, so I vaguely even tried to observe my surroundings. After dumping myself in a random city and going to school out of state, I’ve pushed my brain 10x to develop survival skills. I’ve learned about the importance of not just my life but everyone’s.

And most importantly, the act of observation. As I mentioned earlier, it is the stories and morals we learn from driver’s ed that pin the reminders of danger to our minds. An older man entered the class and shared a story about a young high school girl and her friend who were driving together; one friend was under the influence, while the other wasn’t. The one driving sped up a little and missed a curve, and crashed and lost her life. And that young girl was his daughter.

The best way to learn isn’t always through lecture-style instruction; it is through real-life experiences. I took driver’s ed in high school, and to be honest, I had to force myself to attend the long lectures and endless videos. I’m not saying they weren’t beneficial, and I didn’t care; I’m saying because it didn’t feel personal. Real-life stories and interactions provide a more profound sense of learning. Let us hear from survivors, from parents, from people who made it out or lost someone. Provide us with simulations, practice, and group conversations, not just rules, but also reflections. And as teens, we need to check ourselves and each other. Driving isn’t about being cool. It’s about staying alive. Sometimes that means saying no to a friend or choosing the longer, safer route home.

Driver’s education is only the beginning. The real learning happens after the test, when opportunities for reflection make you realize that you’re responsible for more than just your own life. And when that moment hits you, everything changes.