My Mom is DRIVING Me Crazy

By Skye Bates

It all started in junior year when my mom informed my twin sister and I that she saw no need for us to take Drivers Ed. She explained that our frontal cortex would not be fully developed until we were 20 and that we had no business driving until then. Well, she was only partly kidding. We did take drivers ed, passed our road test, and received our license this summer. That was when the REAL fun began. Every time I leave the house, there are many, many questions, concerns, rules, warnings and restrictions (no driving at night! no driving on highways! cell phone in trunk! Yes - trunk). She is a nervous wreck when we are driving.

In keeping with the hysterics, she enrolled my sister and I in a defensive driving course. "I know you are prepping for college exams, taking AP honors classes, working and trying to have a social life, but this is important," she said. So we signed up, and off we went. Which leads me to the reason my mother is always right.

The defensive driving course in the State of New York is incredible. I learned so much about car crashes, road rage, DUI, and most memorable, what actually happens in a collision. I have never even thought about this. It was interesting, scary and eye-opening. I was always a careful driver, but none of my mom's words made me any more cautious that I would have been. This course make me ultra careful and helped me anticipate road hazards. I am so glad I took it and and I know now the importance of being a safe, effective, defensive driver. Thanks, mom!