Driving While Young

I am 18 years old and I have only had my full driver’s license for about 6 months. I feel that driver’s education along with the graduated licensing process in North Carolina is very important. It took longer than I planned to complete my 60 hours of driving with an adult and my parents were strict about not allowing me to get my Level 2 license until all of the driving time was documented. At the time I didn’t like that but now as fully licensed driver, I feel that was a good decision and it makes me more comfortable knowing that other drivers on the road have to go through the same process which should ultimately reduce the number of deaths due to driving.

Other than the graduated license program, other required classes should be required throughout the early years of a new driver. There could be a series of online courses that are required for young drivers to remind them of rules of the road, laws and the importance of staying alert and focused while driving.

I have never been in an accident but I had an incident in which I was not wearing a seatbelt as a passenger in a friend’s car. We were stopped and I received a ticket. That ticket still follows me around and was another reason in which my license was delayed. Fortunately, I learned from this and now I can remind others who get in my car or other cars of the importance of buckling their seatbelts in the car.

I have witnessed some minor accidents around town and around my high school but I haven’t see or been involved in a major accident. I do have a co-worker who was in a serious accident in which she lost her sister who was the driver of the car. The driver was only a couple of years old than me and although she wasn’t at fault, it was a terrible situation for both my co-worker and her mom. I saw what the loss did to the family and how my co-worker is not afraid to drive and I never want that to happen to me or anyone I know.

Most recently I was going on a trip with a friend who is 17 years old. I fell asleep in the care and woke up to my mom texting me to let me know that my friend was driving over 100 miles per hour. My mom knew because she was alerted by an app that she and I have on our phones. I had to tell my friend to slow down and in fact, I had to remind her multiple times. I drove back because I didn’t trust her to drive us back responsibility.

I like the idea that we have an app that allows my parents to see where I am, how fast I’m driving, whether or not there were any hard stops and just general driving information. I think parents should have this app while their teenagers are living at home. At first I didn’t like the idea but one day I had a flat tire and didn’t know where I was. I called my parents and with the app, they were able to drive directly to where I was. I also think having AAA is a good idea. AAA will help if you run our of gas, get a flat tire or if your car breaks down. I had another incident where I went to work and after work I came out to a dead car battery. It was late and cold and we were able to get AAA to come out and get the car started. The mechanic also told us where we could get a replacement battery at that time of day.

I think to remain a safe and better driver, it is important to make sure to stay off your phone while the car is moving, stay a safe distance behind the car in front of you and maintain a safe speed based on the speed limit and the road conditions. I’ve learned a lot since I started the process of getting my license in North Carolina. I’ve experienced various situations myself and with my friends and family and I feel like I am a safe driver. I enjoy driving and I am usually chosen to be the driver among my friends because of my responsible driving. I try and encourage my friends to be safe drivers but pointing out where they might be able to improve and discussing local accidents and how they happened.