It was a normal Tuesday. My best friend and I met together before walking over to school just like every morning since 2018. As high school seniors, everything is hopeful and exciting. Our futures are almost tangible on our fingertips. Everything we’ve been planning since middle school is about to happen. Colleges are accepting, prom tickets are being sold, and senior skip day is coming up. My best friend is awesome because she drives a zippy, little, yellow truck. I have many names for it including the yellow submarine and the banana mobile. But, today wasn’t as happy as her truck color, after some conversation, she casually mentions how she was in a bad car wreck the night before. My heart drops to my feet, my stomach ties in a knot, and I went still. What if my best friend had died? Anxiety rushed through me. I would get close to dropping out. I would be depressed. So many other scenarios run through my mind that are far more dark. Details are shared about the events of the night previous. Her friend was recklessly driving with her in the passenger seat. For clarity this friend will be known as Patricia. Patricia was turning left and felt pressured to be cool and go before the yellow arrow turned red. The passenger side was hit head on by a minivan coming from the other direction. Now, my best friend told Patricia not to go and to just wait. She even raised her voice to try and stop Patricia. Patricia was more worried about getting to the destination. She didn’t account for others' safety. Patricia could have killed someone; she could have killed my best friend. Her reckless driving resulted in a broken kneecap, shaken up children, an angry cop, and stressed out EMT’s. Not to mention a totaled car and a fuming mother. My best friend was explaining all of this as she tried to rub the whiplash from her neck and shoulders. She ended up having to skip a couple days of school due to the pain. Her life was put on hold because of Patricia’s irresponsible driving.

This incident made me think about driving and the care surrounding safe driving. My best friend and I both took our state’s required drivers education “Joshua’s Law” and learned how decisions should be made in a calm, safe headspace. Driving slows down reaction time. When teenagers feel pressured to make a decision, whether for popularity points or not, bad outcomes result from reckless and anxious driving. I believe that a big part of safe driving is developing good time management. I surveyed some of my peers and found that 9 out of 10 of them will go 25+ miles per hour over the speed limit in order to arrive at school, work, etc. on time. If better time management was used teenagers would not feel pressured to drive faster to not be late. Some tactics that can be used to ensure stress-free driving are the 15-minute rule, the use of scheduling, and a physical reminder. The 15-minute rule is determining when you need to be at a location, and planning to arrive at least 15 minutes earlier to lessen the anxious feelings surrounding punctuality. The use of scheduling to help manage time and commitments can be as simple as setting alarms and keeping a calendar to allow for clarity. A physical reminder can be a token, a sticky note, or something else that signifies the idea “It’s better to be late than dead or seriously injured.” The employment of these tactics will create a calmer driving experience.

Another factor that almost every teen struggles with is the use of technology while driving. I have even been guilty of my focus being shifted on my music choice rather than the road and my surroundings. I asked my classmates who drive themselves to school the following question: “How distracted by your phone do you consider yourself when driving to school every morning on a scale of one to ten?” The mean response was 5 out of 10. Distracted driving especially on interstates and busy roads can result in serious injury and death. Some tips for less distracted driving can be remembered in the 3 A’s: attack, avoid, and alleviate. Before driving, the driver should “attack” the issues that could pose as a distraction. Anything ranging from a physical problem to an emotional problem can cause distraction and warrants resolution before driving. The driver should “avoid” any distractions while driving. Avoid texting, eating, etc. so the driver’s concentration and focus remains whole. “Alleviate” is where after the drive is finished, the driver should reflect back and identify any distractions that were prevalent. Using these tips will allow teen drivers to focus on the road and their surroundings. A focused driver is a safe driver.

Reflecting back on my best friend’s experience, I realize Patricia could have used a physical reminder and the 3 A’s to help her focus on the safety and wellbeing of herself and her passenger. When I find my focus shifting or my anxiety rising while driving I remind myself that safety is the most important factor while driving. If teenagers were to take the time to properly educate themselves and form tactics and strategies to best help their road performance- our roads would be substantially safer and lives would be saved.