For most teenagers, getting your driver’s license means freedom. That flimsy black-and-white card with your photo on it is your ticket to sing your favorite songs as loud as you want with the windows down and the wind blowing. It means you can go to the mall to hang out with your friends without having to worry about arranging a ride home, and it also means that you can study at the library or go to work on your own time, rather than someone else’s. Getting a driver’s license is a symbol of not only freedom, but of adulthood. And like most teenagers, I could not wait for the moment I was able to sit behind the wheel of a car and experience these life-changing feelings. However, the first time my dad took me driving, I realized my experience would be quite different than what I had expected and hoped for.
I immediately hated being in the driver’s seat. I hated holding the steering wheel, I hated the feel of the car’s power in my hands; I even hated the smell of the air freshener. I was driving 5 MPH in the empty parking lot of my old elementary school with my dad right beside me, and I felt completely out of control. Once we made it onto the actual roads, my anxiety worsened, and I felt the need to pull over every time another car approached mine. Five years later, I have never received so much as a traffic citation, yet my hands still shake every time I get behind the wheel. Driving is not something I enjoy, and it does not make me feel free. I do it only because I have to, not because I want to.
My friends often wonder why I am such an anxious driver, because I have never been in a car accident. They do not know that when I was much younger, my dad was in one, and it changed my life. I have been both blessed and cursed with an exceptional memory, and I remember him coming home from the hospital. Both of his wrists were in casts along with one of his legs, which was also heavily bandaged because his lighter had exploded in his pocket when he had hit the tree. Over the years, we have come up with many backstories for the massive scar on his leg, including a shark attack. But it is one of those jokes that is not actually funny - it just helps you get over things that you otherwise might not be able to.
In addition to my dad’s experience, this past fall, I found out that one of my friends had died in a car accident. I could not really bring myself to believe it at first, and then I saw the photos of her car all over the news. Had I not known it was a car, I would never have guessed. It looked like a tin can wrapped around a grove of trees. After seeing those photos, I knew there was no way she could have survived. I just hoped that she had gone without feeling pain. She died days before her last year of high school was to begin.
Between these two personal and horrific experiences, I do not feel that my driving anxiety is unwarranted. In fact, I think I have an appropriate amount of fear, because driving is incredibly dangerous and should not be taken lightly. You can leave the house to do the same drive you do every single day and never make it home. You can also tell your hilarious, smart, responsible friend that you will see her soon, only to never see her again. Yet nearly every day as I drive to work, I find myself swerving to avoid distracted or reckless drivers and thinking to myself “did no one on this road go to driver’s ed except for me?”
The importance of driver’s education becomes even clearer when I watch the news and see just how many lives are being taken. An article written just weeks after my friend’s death states that fatal crashes involving teenage drivers are up 400% in New Hampshire alone. There were one hundred deaths as of September 2024, compared to just three deaths the year before. Moreover, after viewing statistics on the number of traffic fatalities yearly, it is clear that these numbers have, for the most part, steadily risen over time.
According to reports, driver education plays a key role in stopping this concerning pattern by teaching inexperienced drivers everything from how to maintain their cars to who has the right of way and in what situations. It also teaches you things like what to do if your car hydroplanes, as well as how to handle other emergencies. Driver education gives students the opportunity to practice driving while remaining safe, and it warns them about the dangers of drunk and distracted driving . Arguably the most important thing I learned when I took my driver’s ed course was defensive driving. Not only do you have to follow all the rules of the road yourself, but you must be alert and ready to react quickly and intelligently if someone else on the road messes up or experiences an emergency. All these lessons can help reduce the number of lives that are senselessly taken as a result of car accidents.
In addition, drivers must recognize that driving is a privilege, not a right, and it can be taken away. They must know the consequences for driving while impaired, distracted driving, etc., and they must drive carefully and with respect to everyone on the road. If they cannot do this, then their licenses must be suspended or taken away entirely. There is a reason the Supreme Court has ruled that cars can be weapons. Drivers cannot take the privilege of owning them lightly if we are to reduce the number of traffic-related deaths.
I will always stay off my phone and free of distractions or other impairment when I am driving, because I have seen the consequences of not doing so. I will also continue to wear my seat belt and practice defensive driving, as I have since the day I got my license. Lastly, I will openly discourage others from texting while driving or drinking and driving. There is no text or drink that is more important than your life.