Driving is more than a privilege, it is a responsibility. Although you stated that more people die in a year in the U.S. due to car crashes than U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, you did not mention that approximately 4.9 times more people die each year in car crashes than U.S. military have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. This really puts into perspective the amount of danger driving has and the attention required.

I have personally experienced this, although in a vicarious manner, in this situation. I recall that my cousin’s friend got into a crash and died. That very same night, his friend had asked him if he needed a ride. If he had gone with this kid, he wouldn’t be here with us either. Teen driving safety is crucial because, the knowledge and precautions you learn early on will be carried with you for the rest of your life. That’s why driver’s education is such an important step in a teenagers' life. They are taking on a responsibility that they must learn well for their own safety and everyone’s around them.

I feel a big issue with teen driving in the present is the amount of underage drinking teenagers do. It’s already bad enough to be engaging in such activity, but it’s very unlikely they will do this somewhere they don’t need to drive back from. People are also getting phones way younger than they used to, and it can pose an easy distraction on the road. If anything, when it comes to peer pressure I see it coming from drinking, there is not much someone can do directly related to driving to cause someone to get into an accident from peer pressure alone. Drugs and alcohol though are very easily a culprit.

You don’t even need to be the person that is driving recklessly to be in the way of danger. I have been driving for a couple of years now and the amount of abrupt stops I’ve had to make because people slam their brakes or speed off when they don’t have the right away, is uncountable. I recently had someone come flying around a bend, going well above the speed limit, and pass me hiding away in my blind side when I went to merge. I had to correct my wheel to avoid basically scraping against this person’s car.


If there is anything we need to teach in driving lessons, it’s that you need to pay more attention to what everyone else is doing than what you are. And I feel that schools need to have more awareness and training, etc. associated with driving. I feel when I was in school, there wasn’t much to encourage safe driving or get you experience with driving. Maybe a sim, or something of like nature once, but essentially nothing. Maybe it would be a good idea for schools to partner with driving schools to get more experience in preteens and teens, whether this be by simulations, or the real thing in a safe controlled area.

As for the community, it would be good to bring more awareness to be cautious on the road, regardless of age. If people drove more safe in general, this would reduce the risk of teen driver deaths and accidents. It doesn’t always take two people driving irresponsibly to cause a crash. You can’t sit at a red light forever or an intersection praying someone won’t come flying around the corner.


You know how I said before that you need to pay attention to others more? That is not entirely true. You also have to know your own limits. Shortly after working on this essay, I was heading to an appointment at an auto place. On the way there I was a bit overwhelmed at the moment. As more time passed I noticed my hands and arms became harder to move, I think between a bit of stress and lack of water that day, my body was locking up. I continued driving for a while until I became aware I couldn’t even manage to wrap my hands around the wheel from how clamped they were. I pulled off and put my hazards on, waited for myself to calm down and the water I drank on the way to do something. I didn’t go back on the road till I had a minute to breathe, and I could feel my hands and legs properly once again. It was mildly terrifying, but not in the same way you fear an animal or dread an upcoming test. It made me feel achingly aware of my surroundings and I have a good feeling if I wasn’t reasonable enough to pull off to the side something bad could have happened.

Too often, we get too comfortable driving and forget the risk just entering that vehicle can impose. Humans weren’t designed to travel at speeds faster than a cheetah. So I think the best thing we can do as a community and society for teenage drivers is stress the importance of, being aware of others, being aware of your limits, and being aware of the danger irresponsible driving and habits can have. Stay safe and stay smart.