REDUCING RISKS FOR TEEN DRIVERS

REDUCING RISKS FOR TEEN DRIVERS

Over the entirety of our lives we individually will drive on average 850,500 miles. In these miles memories will be made, but the reality is some of these memories could turn out to be some of the worst in our lifetime. However, there are things we can all collectively do and contribute to ensure that our 850,500 miles are the happiest they can be.

These memories hinder on the root of our teen driver education system. Although we have our parents drive us for years and years before we actually ever get behind the wheel, new drivers’ first real experiences are at drivers’ education. Drivers education carries a very great importance to how good of a driver someone will become. There are many factors of how a new driver is introduced into being behind the wheel. Even before a new driver takes the right of passage to take their driving test or rather before there is any behind the wheel training there is normally mandatory classroom training and some form of a written test or exam. In this day and age there are some alternatives to this in classroom teaching such as doing this classroom time online. However, there are many flaws with allowing this portion of drivers training to be online. New drivers can turn on the material, walk away from the screen and return to do the assessment that has the ability to grant them their permit, without having learned any of the valuable knowledge necessary to be ready for the behind the wheel training. Even after a new driver has gotten their permit the debate of parent taught, or teacher taught is another vital decision of if a new driver will be a successful driver. Being taught by your parents versus a brand-new stranger will be a completely different experience. All of these things will factor into how well a new driver will be on the road thus being a hugely determining factor of how many people a new driver could possibly injure or even kill. One major solution to these many variables would be to make a more standardized and uniform way to acquire a permit. Make a more cut and dried system and steps would hopefully greatly decrease variability in the success level of a new driver.

I have personally never been driving when an accident has occurred, but my dad was driving and we just got bumped from behind, however, very fortunately we did not get injured and there was no damage to either car. A different instance when the party involved was not as fortunate was a well-loved peer and classmate who got in a high speed crash, and it was fatal. There are many speculations as to why the accident occurred, but the most likely scenario was that they were running late and had their mind on other things than being completely focused on the road. That is one thing that needs to be eliminated: the whole stigma around the saying “It won’t happen to me.”. It can happen and the more an individual thinks like that the higher their chances are of having the unspeakable happen because they are more likely to take chances and make riskier decisions because they think they are invincible.

All in all, there are so many things that contribute to young drivers being inadequately equipped with the skills they need to be able to be successful drivers. This needs to stop and things need to change now.