I have never wanted to drive. While my sister got car keys and a new car at sixteen, I never even wanted to get my license. Since my sister was ecstatic to drive, she took me everywhere. From soccer practice to Sonic drinks, she was my go to. I would DJ; she would drive. It was perfect. After one practice, I settled into the passenger seat like any other day. Even being as safe of a driver she was, while backing out she managed to nick the telephone pole near the parking spots. Thankfully, there was no real damage to us or the car, just a dent. However, this dent was more than just a divit in her car. It was a reminder of the dangers of vehicles no matter how “safe” someone thinks they drive.
Driving is a freedom most teenagers look forward to, but their actions on the road affect every car around them. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the average car to weigh around four thousand pounds. This is not a weight that should be taken lightly. Newer drivers that engage in reckless behavior struggle to see the severity of these situations and often put others at risk. Driver’s education is the starting point of informing others about the dangers of driving. While driving can be fun and liberating, it is just as important to understand the responsibility that comes with being handed car keys. In fact, most driver’s education courses start with slides, presentations, or videos of crashes to warn the consequences of reckless behavior. I still vividly remember the videos I watched during my driver’s education course, and, as a new driver at the time, I was terrified of being the cause. Driver’s education doesn’t just teach the gas from brakes, it shows the consequences of not taking it seriously.
Even if a teen is taking driving seriously by using their turn signal and looking both ways, following simple road laws is not enough to stay safe behind the wheel. With the increasing media and need to stay connected, most teens get distracted by technology in their own car. Whether it is changing the music, taking a quick snap, or talking to friends, a teenager's biggest distractions in a car are tied to what they care about outside of it. Trying to keep up with all these things behind a wheel can cost lives. While Rihanna sings “zero to sixty in three point five,” looking away from the road to play said song can make it go from sixty to zero in even less time. Nevertheless, there are simple fixes to these everyday problems. While some might say to just not touch it at all, sometimes having a friend in the car can be just as easy. Nobody should ever multitask while driving. That’s one of the big reasons my sister drove with me so much. It was a simple solution to a problem with potentially fatal consequences.
One of the most simple examples highlighting the necessity for safe teenage drivers happened my sophomore year. It had finally snowed, at least in Oklahoma when we got ice we called it snow. Regardless, the story goes that one of my classmates, while distracted, had rear ended our math teacher. While nobody was hurt, it was a problem that could have been prevented with safer driving behind the wheel. Teens struggle with everything enough as it is, there is no reason to add avoidable expenses to the mix. The problem needs to be fixed. In addition to driver’s education, there needs to be more groups advocating for the dangers of unsafe driving, most importantly in teens. Teaching teens is difficult, especially when it comes to limiting what they think they have the right to. Offering local community meetings or recreations in the consequences of unsafe teen driving can help teens understand the issue more thoroughly. Our school offers a drunk driver recreation around prom, and, with some kids being visual learners, seeing a car wrecked against a wall might be the final push they need to take everyday driving seriously.
To put it simply, teenagers need to be taught the dangers behind the wheel, not just outside the car but inside too. The world will continue to change and new issues and concerns will continue to pop up. If we can raise awareness now and prevent even half of the dangerous activities behind the wheel, the world would be ready for new problems and new solutions. In and out of the car, it is important to remember that as the world turns digital, our attention needs to remain physical. Driving safely saves lives, so why wouldn’t you?