Are you driving tired? Did you plan your trip? If the answer is no, then you may be a candidate for the next episode of . Upcoming episodes will feature: Sleepy Lane (teens driving with 3 hours of sleep), Crash Island (teen driver with the worst totaled car and lifelong regret), Survivor (only one teen will survive when her choices go wrong), Wheel of Misfortune (teens taking a chance with speeding, not wearing seatbelts, tailgating, texting, weather, drowsiness, using Spotify via cellphone while connected to the car audio and other distractions), Big Rage Brothers (teens making driving choice while experiencing road rage), the Amazing Race (teens drive around town with no rest, no planning and no GPS – who will be the first to arrive, if at all), So You Think You Can Merge (teens attempting to merge during rush hour). Each episode features teens that made poor choices and experience significant obstacles and regret. Had any of the featured teens planned better, they wouldn’t be featured in !
Each time a teen drives she makes a choice that impact her and others. No teen wants to be the star of . Teen driving is a public issue because inexperience, impulsivity and risk-taking behaviors with distraction and fatigue can result in death. Teens are more likely to experience these risks as they have the least experience on the road.
Teens need to understand risks like weather or tiredness can have irreversible consequences. Teens must be prepared to think smart behind the wheel. We need to do more than teaching teens to drive, we also need to make sure teens have the right mindset to avoid tragedy that results from poor planning. Driver’s education must go beyond the rules to create awareness and change behaviors before teens become the star of the next episode. The biggest challenge teens face is planning, especially when they lack experience.
When I was a toddler, my parents were involved in a bad car accident. It was a single car rollover accident on a highway. The cause was never determined, but it was narrowed down to weather or drowsiness. My parents wished they had planned the trip differently. My mother sustained permanent injuries; she suffered head injuries, orbital fractures, and lots of broken bones.
We talk about that night a lot, especially now that I am driving. We talk about how the accident could have been avoided if they planned better. Education should not be limited to just a formal one-time course when you start driving. Although it is a good place to start, we need to have on-going conversations and assemblies in our schools and community to share experiences and create continued awareness as the consequences can be fatal. Planning needs to be emphasized in all driver’s education courses, not just the hazards.
I am sharing my parents’ story because it affected me and, luckily, I haven’t had that kind of experience. I feel regular education and on-going conversations can reduce these outcomes. I am sure they never thought this could happen to them. But, had they planned better the outcome would have been different. And, this is what we need to educate teens, our most vulnerable population, about – planning, not just the no texting and driving, no speeding, and no drinking and driving. While those remain important topics, they are not the only ones. Planning is the missing conversation with teens! It is critical that teens know they are stepping into a high-stakes game when they take the wheel. Teen drivers face more than just road rules. Teen drivers face real-life risks that can never be undone or reset. Driving looks simple. Most teens think you get in the car and buckle up. But driving is much more complicated than that. Failure to plan for driving, whether weather, tiredness or any other distraction, will give you a front row seat to the America Next Top Crash. No one wants to be on that show!
Driver’s Education videos and first-hand stories had the greatest impact on me. I could see and feel the regret. I learned from other’s mistakes. Driver’s Education makes all drivers aware of serious risks. It is important to have on-going education emphasizing planning as planning can impact a life-or-death decision. Without education, we cannot continue to evolve as drivers. Evolving as better educated and prepared drivers will reduce the number of deaths from teen driving. And, to do this, we need to start with educating today’s teens about planning in our schools, community and driver education courses.
Each time a teen drives she makes a choice that impact her and others. No teen wants to be the star of . Teen driving is a public issue because inexperience, impulsivity and risk-taking behaviors with distraction and fatigue can result in death. Teens are more likely to experience these risks as they have the least experience on the road.
Teens need to understand risks like weather or tiredness can have irreversible consequences. Teens must be prepared to think smart behind the wheel. We need to do more than teaching teens to drive, we also need to make sure teens have the right mindset to avoid tragedy that results from poor planning. Driver’s education must go beyond the rules to create awareness and change behaviors before teens become the star of the next episode. The biggest challenge teens face is planning, especially when they lack experience.
When I was a toddler, my parents were involved in a bad car accident. It was a single car rollover accident on a highway. The cause was never determined, but it was narrowed down to weather or drowsiness. My parents wished they had planned the trip differently. My mother sustained permanent injuries; she suffered head injuries, orbital fractures, and lots of broken bones.
We talk about that night a lot, especially now that I am driving. We talk about how the accident could have been avoided if they planned better. Education should not be limited to just a formal one-time course when you start driving. Although it is a good place to start, we need to have on-going conversations and assemblies in our schools and community to share experiences and create continued awareness as the consequences can be fatal. Planning needs to be emphasized in all driver’s education courses, not just the hazards.
I am sharing my parents’ story because it affected me and, luckily, I haven’t had that kind of experience. I feel regular education and on-going conversations can reduce these outcomes. I am sure they never thought this could happen to them. But, had they planned better the outcome would have been different. And, this is what we need to educate teens, our most vulnerable population, about – planning, not just the no texting and driving, no speeding, and no drinking and driving. While those remain important topics, they are not the only ones. Planning is the missing conversation with teens! It is critical that teens know they are stepping into a high-stakes game when they take the wheel. Teen drivers face more than just road rules. Teen drivers face real-life risks that can never be undone or reset. Driving looks simple. Most teens think you get in the car and buckle up. But driving is much more complicated than that. Failure to plan for driving, whether weather, tiredness or any other distraction, will give you a front row seat to the America Next Top Crash. No one wants to be on that show!
Driver’s Education videos and first-hand stories had the greatest impact on me. I could see and feel the regret. I learned from other’s mistakes. Driver’s Education makes all drivers aware of serious risks. It is important to have on-going education emphasizing planning as planning can impact a life-or-death decision. Without education, we cannot continue to evolve as drivers. Evolving as better educated and prepared drivers will reduce the number of deaths from teen driving. And, to do this, we need to start with educating today’s teens about planning in our schools, community and driver education courses.
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Bridging Fear with Responsibility: A Reflection on Teen Driver Safety
Michael Beck
