The Culture of Early Driving

Every day, 6 teenagers are taken from this world. 6 teenagers with parents, siblings, maybe even kids. 6 teenagers who woke up that day not knowing that it would be their last. The worst part? We encourage it. As a society, we have romanticized the freedom of driving so obtusely that teenagers are thrown out onto the road with little to no care for the consequences. That is unacceptable when there are thousands of teenagers dying in motor vehicle crashes every year. While teenagers themselves are not entirely blameless in the large number of motor vehicle crashes, society, especially parents, need to reflect on what we are teaching kids.

For example, one of the most common occurrences at my high school is for kids to take their 15^th and 16^th birthday off. Not to actually celebrate but rather to sit in line at the DMV for 3+ hours just for the sake of getting their permit or their license. There is nothing inherently wrong with someone being eager to get their permit/license, but it should not always be encouraged. Driving is a skill, and many teens get their permit and license before they have mastered driving. The reason why mastering driving is so important is because every time you go on the road the actions of you and others can decide someone’s life. A classmate of mine, Jonathan, was recently in a life-threatening car accident that occurred because of unsafe driving. The rest of his schoolyear, when he did make it back to school, was spent in crutches. Do we really want the weight of a teenager’s death or serious injury on our conscience? Or even worse, a teenager having the weight of someone’s death on their conscience because of unsafe driving? That is why training is so important. Would you want an untrained soldier handling explosive weapons without the proper training? Of course not! In a similar fashion, it would be ridiculous to expect teenagers to be great drivers if they only receive instruction from their parents. Even the DMV’s driving test, at least for South Florida, only covers very basic driving maneuvers in a practically empty area and does not test someone’s ability while surrounded by other moving vehicles. The simplicity of this test only further encourages teenagers to get their licenses before they may be ready. If parents and DMV employees are willing to put teenagers out on the road knowing that they may not have received significant practice, they are in part to blame for the thousands of teenage driving deaths and accidents that occur every year.

So, what is the answer? Requiring driver’s education, either outside of school or as part of the school curriculum, is an important first step. The rules of the road and safe driving techniques are so important, and many accidents occur because people are not properly educated on them. Requiring driver’s education would help ensure that teenagers are learning these rules and techniques before they hit the road. Driver’s education also provides key information for dangerous situations, such as your car crashing into a body of water, which teens may not even think about normally. Another key factor is to externally verify teen driving hours before they are allowed their license. Due to economic concerns, not all hours would need verification, but a certain portion of those hours should be required to be done with a driving instructor. This requirement will be much easier to fulfill for all teenagers if it is coupled with driver education classes, which often provide hands-on driving instruction.

Our society has grown fixated on the freedom of driving, and it’s tied to our idea of American freedom. But to create a safer driving environment for everyone, we must assure everyone is properly taught how to drive. Driving in an empty Publix parking lot is not sufficient when teenagers will soon find themselves on freeways and highways! We as citizens can take steps to educate teenagers and decrease teenage motor vehicle deaths. Increasing permit and license standards and requiring driving education is the first part of a longer process. Let us not be idle; let us take that first step by calling our government officials and advocating for higher driving standards.