I shouldn’t be left out and mocked because I don’t want to break the law. Because the law for individuals under 18 allows for only one non-family member passenger at a time, I had to make my dad drive me one hour, to a dinner with friends while everyone else disregarded the law and rode together. At first, when I told them, they said, “it’s okay, we do it all the time…The cops won’t catch us.” But after repeatedly expressing my discomfort despite the peer pressure, they simply said see you at the restaurant. They got ready together, hung out together, and even drove to places without telling me before meeting together. Often the phrase, high risk, high reward is used. But if the risk is illegal, there shouldn’t be a reward. The entirety of the night and next day, I had to call my dad to drive me around to the same places where I would meet everyone else. I was the weird stickler about the “law no one cares about” kid. I was excluded because I wanted to be safe. But what message is being sent when safety is seen as over-cautious, and danger is brushed off? I didn’t want a medal for following the law, I just didn’t want to feel punished for doing the right thing. The reality is, no one gets mocked until something goes horribly wrong. Then suddenly, everyone wishes they had spoken up.

Teen driver safety is challenged by a disregard for the rules set in place to protect teens themselves. This first breath of freedom is often mishandled. With the feeling that you can conquer the world at 16, why not blast distracting music, stick your leg out the window, put your seat in a poor position, take your hands off the wheel, scroll on your phone? Why not all at the same time? Be rebellious! Be reckless! These thoughts of reckless behavior infused with independence have happened before and will happen time and time again. But what teens crave and perceive as self determination is far from reality. Teen drivers are more likely to be in fatal accidents than any other age group. According to the CDC, motor vehicle crashes are the second leading cause of death for U.S. teens. This is no coincidence, it’s the consequence of negligence and inconsideration. No matter how many tragic videos watched during drivers ed, it will never stick until you truly understand the severity of things. For me, the scarcity of life hit when I almost got run over while standing on the sidewalk. It was a reminder that irresponsible driving kills, and it’s a grave, underestimated public issue that can be stopped.

And developing responsibility starts with taking drivers' ed itself seriously. Personally, when I was completing my driver’s ed, it was on zoom. When they were playing all the videos of drunk driving etc, admittedly, I was on my bed almost falling asleep. The impact doesn’t hit unless you are held accountable sitting in a classroom. The impact doesn’t hit unless you watch the videos in person and participate in discussion. The impact doesn’t hit unless you stay actively conscious of the deadly repercussions due to your carelessness. We need to move away from checking boxes and start cultivating real understanding. Awareness for driving safety for teens doesn’t end when you complete driver's ed and receive your driver’s license. Awareness should come from a teacher saying, “Drive safe! Make smart decisions!” It should be a parent disciplining their children and reminding them of the dangers of driving poorly, setting expectations instead of just handing over keys, enforcing life 360 to monitor speeding, and ensuring teens adhere to curfews. It should be the local government taking necessary measures to enforce laws. It should be social media discouraging poor driving instead of glorifying it for views. It should be friends holding each other accountable, not just laughing and saying, “We’ve done it before and it was fine.” Because it’s fine, until it’s not, is the most dangerous mindset of all. It takes a community to develop a culture where a teen driving safely is the norm, not the exception. When everyone surrounding you takes driving seriously, so will you. It is only when this occurs that teens will be unapologetically, without embarrassment, consciously drive with more caution and follow the laws that were put in place to protect. And for the teens themselves, real rebellion isn’t breaking the law, it’s the courage to refuse and say no: saving lives, including their own.