Most people become interested in defensive driving upon driving for the first time. I was taught it when I was six—long before I had even got my hands on the steering wheel. It was the day I got into a car accident and I remember very well even to this day, as if it were yesterday.

We were making a left turn. I was in the back seat, tiny and hardly tall enough to be peeking over the door. I remember being laid back, almost bored, until we were confronted with the abrupt realization of an onrush of a burst of headlights right for us. All of a sudden, everything changed. We got T-boned. The impact was on the side of the vehicle that I was in. I remember the crunching sound of metal and the shove that sent my body in a specific direction. I wasn't hurt physically, but inside me, I changed emotionally. Racing pulse, tightening chest, and for a moment literally, I thought it was the end. My life didn't flash before my eyes in a movie montage—but I do remember feeling like time just stopped. I was scared to death, frozen with fear.

Even though no one was harmed, that accident etched itself in my memory. I did not yet know the rules of the road as well, but I did learn this - that automobiles are huge and deadly unless respected. That made me realize that driving was business and a serious responsibility and not excitement and thrills. Driving takes lives every day.

Which is why I believe teen driving safety isn't just a public issue—a personal issue. Every time a teenager text-messages drives, speeds to impress their peers, or glances at their phone while driving, they are putting not only their own life but the life of another innocent person in danger. And sometimes, as it did for me, it isn't even the teenager's fault. But the trauma doesn't disappear.

Driver's ed is our finest shield against a wreck like mine. It can teach beyond simply to turn or parallel park between lines—teach teens to be attentive, cautious, and responsible. A good program will extend outside the classroom and provide teens with hands-on training, i.e., in tricky scenarios such as driving in the rain, at night, or in heavy traffic. Above all, it should make them care about safe driving—not how to do it.

Learning, however, can't remove the fear of being a new teen driver. Distractions are on every corner: jingling cell phones, blaring stereos, laughing friends in the backseat. There is peer pressure. I know it's possible. I have seen a friend drive a corner too aggressively as we rode in her car. She was an inexperienced driver and wanted to impress us. We nearly lost control, and nobody ever said a word again. That sobered me up—not so much for what could have happened, but for the ease with which another human being could commit the same error that nearly destroyed my life as a child.

Teenagers do have legitimate problems to contend with, but no excuse that we can't solve them. It starts with honest communication. Parents and schools need to talk to teenagers honestly—don't give us the lecture. We need to be told true tales, not rules. We need to drive through tough conditions, not deserted streets. And we need to be led by example—older students, parents, teachers—demonstrating the path of safe driving for us.

Community organizations can assist as well. Schools can hold safe-driving days where teens promise, hear from crash survivors, or drive simulators and learn what happens when there are distractions while driving. Neighborhood programs can offer low-cost driver courses or offer parent-teen driving courses for sponsorship. Even cell-phone blocking programs can be the beginning. Any advancement is better than none.

We owe it to ourselves as teens, as well. It doesn't require much effort to be brave enough to speak up with a friend for speeding behind the wheel, but a simple word can save a life. We can be the type of drivers—and riding passengers—who are in charge of safety.

Even now, I get the shakes when I must turn left through traffic. I look out the window and remember the feel of oncoming headlights. I remind myself that something which has happened to me can be done to anyone—especially someone who is not paying attention. That accident injured my heart, but nothing else. It is something which I carry with me every time that I fasten a seatbelt.

Teen safe driving isn't something I care about—it's personal. I've seen how life can change overnight. And I've seen that with a shared education, awareness, and accountability, we can prevent other teens from enduring what I endured. We can make the roads safer—one good choice at a time.