Make It Home

Make It Home

When I was almost seventeen, I received the only thing a teenager my age could want: freedom in the form of paper. My driver’s license, albeit temporary until I received the card in the mail, was my pride and joy. It wasn’t as flashy as a four by two card, but it was legitimate proof by the state of California that, “Hey! Look out world, this girl is one step closer to being an adult! She can drive!”

You could imagine my frustration, then, when I told my father I was going to drive to a high school football game and he stopped me, telling me that he would drop me off instead. I passed a test with flying colors. I had a legal document that said that I was able and ready to drive wherever I wanted to go. What was the issue?

My father didn’t budge on his decision. Nothing was less cool than getting dropped off at a football game by your parents, so my friend decided to pick me up. The game ended close to eleven thirty with high schoolers hooting and hollering, riding high on victory adrenaline and soda sugar. I got into the car with my friend, and she got out onto the road back to my house.

She had her headlights on, her music low, her seatbelt strapped, and her mirrors angled perfectly. She did everything right, but the truck in front of us, filled with kids our age speeding to get to the post-game party, didn’t. They didn’t realize that they’d missed a turn, and instead crashed head on into the fence on the side of the road, causing my friend to have to swerve and lose control of her driving to avoid the crash.

That was the night I realized that my father knew that I was ready to drive, and that he wasn’t worried about me being a reckless driver. He was worried I would be on the receiving end of a reckless driver’s poor choice. That same night, I also realized that no government issued piece of paper would be enough to prevent the number of deaths that occur each year due to reckless driving.

According to Driving Tests’ Ultimate List of Driving Statistics for 2020, “Speed was a factor in 31% of US teen driver fatalities.” Coupled with this statistic is the fact that the highest risk of getting into a fatal car crash is within the first year of receiving a license. We could hide behind the notion that “teenagers will be teenagers”, or we could choose to take action so that teenagers make it to adulthood. There is never a one hundred percent guarantee that we can curb the effects of reckless driving, or even eliminate the characteristics of it. However, there is always a place to start.

The drivers ed programs that teenagers are expected to complete online in the comfort of their home is convenient and accessible to the masses nationwide. The downside to these programs is that there’s no way to track if the student is genuinely paying attention. To counteract this, schools could implement more programs, such as modules or assemblies for students to complete and experience so that they’re in an engaged environment where their progress and comprehension can be monitored. Assemblies where people on the receiving end of reckless driving can give testimony to their experiences are also a good idea to spread awareness of the effects of driving recklessly, and how we can stop it to prevent the number of driving deaths per year from going up.

The importance of drivers ed in preventing deaths due to driving is something we underestimate. 66% of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving, as stated by the Driving Tests Ultimate List of Driving Statistics for 2020. This statistic may cause some to say that it is pointless and that the only thing we can do is assume that everyone on the road is going to be reckless. I believe that through education and more concentrated programs that engage more deeply with those who are beginning to learn how to drive, we can cut the death rates of driving until the roads become safe enough for us to be sure that everybody can make it home.