Teen driver safety is incredibly important and can absolutely be classified as a public issue. There are a few reasons for this, but the most glaring is that teenagers are more likely to be in an accident compared to other age groups. This is because they are new to driving, of course, but in addition to that, teenagers have added distractions that most adults do not. For example, Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with iPhones. Teenagers also are more likely to drive with a car full of friends, who can easily cause distractions on the road. I see distracted driving everywhere I go. From the person sitting at the stoplight on their phone to my sister—who is just now learning how to drive—getting too distracted by people talking in the car to focus exclusively on the road. While missing a green light is more inconvenient than outright dangerous, it is a warning sign of a bigger issue at hand. The purpose of driver education is to teach safe habits that will reduce the driver’s risk to themselves and others. This is a key element of our society, which promotes safe independence and allows teens to practice and build habits before going out on their own. To aid their journey, laws exist (duh) so that some ground rules could be built. Just last month, the hands-free law—which bans touching cellphones while driving—was enacted in my state. Although the next few months will consist of warnings rather than fines, it is a step in the right direction, with Montana being the only state that does not participate in this. There are difficulties for teen drivers, such as peer pressure and the fear of missing out (FOMO). Teenagers are more susceptible to being influenced by a peer than adults, which has caused unsafe driving habits such as texting while driving or trying to talk while driving to become very normalized. In addition to that, teenagers are very likely to experience the fear of missing out and choose to drive to events/hangouts past their legal driving window or possibly before they have even gotten their license.
I, unfortunately, have experience with all of these issues. I am watching my sister learn how to drive and noticing that she is not as vigilant as I was; I worry for her safety. My brother doesn’t have a license; he was driving his friend’s car and hit a lamppost sometime past midnight. Although he and his friend were okay, the car was completely totaled. I have also felt the impact of a crash personally, as a year and a half ago I was hit by another teen driver who didn’t stop at the stop sign. Both I and my passenger were fine as well, but my car was destroyed. I went months without a car, having to beg my friends to drive me everywhere, and we had to use some of my college fund to purchase a new vehicle. The impact that a crash has on a person’s life is immense and also overlooked by teenagers.
So what is the solution? Firstly, driving safety classes need to be taught in school. I find it unacceptable that at fourteen years old I was being taught how to have safe sex and how to drink safely, but not the correct way to behave behind a vehicle. Although driver education courses are required before getting a license, teens do not take it to heart the way they would if it was being reviewed yearly in health/PE/advisory classes. This can serve as a yearly reminder of the responsibilities that a teen driver has. The next step to be taken is to try to “deinfluence” unsafe driving. We need to bring back scary PSAs. Real people, real stories, real consequences. Anyone old enough to drive is also old enough to watch what happens when they do it incorrectly. Many teenagers feel like they’re invincible. They aren’t fully developed, and the real world hasn’t gotten a good hold of them yet. When their parents talk about crashes, the first thought in their mind is, “That would never happen to me!” Showing real accidents and the outcomes will shake them out of the invincibility mindset and encourage safe driving. The final step to promote safer driving is for parents and guardians to take accountability. Nothing good happens after midnight, so why is your 16-year-old out past their driving curfew? Laws exist for a reason, so why is your 14-year-old borrowing your car to go see their friends when they don’t have a license? A lot of incidents involving teen/underage drivers can be traced back to parental figures that do not enforce the law. And I’m not pulling these stories out of thin air; these are things I have seen happening in my own community. The importance of safe driving habits is something that needs to be emphasized throughout teenage years. This can be done with the aid of educational institutions, public service announcements, and parental/guardian support. With continued practice and vigilance, we can move towards a safer society.