May of 2019, the day a life was unnecessarily taken from this Earth. My brother’s cousin died due to recklessly speeding on his motorcycle at the ripe age of 18 years old. This child’s life could have been saved if we as a society put more emphasis on driver safety rather than “cool tricks and high priced vehicles.” 7% of fatal car crashes have been reported to be by teenagers, though that number seems small, if you break it down this translates to 18 deaths per a day. In fact, most crashes with fatalities are teen deaths rather than older driver deaths. Psychologically, teens are the years of experimentation, which is why they are the most developmental because most things are being tried, likes and dislikes are being established, meaning it is the time period where the most risk taking occurs. Let’s say you watched “Fast and Furious” just a few days ago, the intense speed, action, drama of the wheel, to a developed mind it is simply entertainment however to a developing mind it is an opportunity, “I wonder what it’s like to do that?” Children’s minds are easily impressionable and this can be beneficial if you use it to make the child aware of dangers. Setting up healthy boundaries with your car, understanding this is not a recreational vehicle but rather a machine that has the capability to end your life at any moment. That is the importance of having classes in school that address all of the risk factors making people entirely aware of every capability vehicles have, good and bad. The biggest hindrance to this however, is how easily people get distracted these days. Everyone can adapt quickly, but habits will ultimately override beneficial information in the long run. I’ve noticed even my 40 year old parents when they get a notification on their phone they will try to read it mid-driving, and this is not even the worst of it, some people will straight up scroll on social media while they are driving, this pure addiction to distraction is what creates these wrecks. If you want to see less fatalities in the following year you must first remove your addiction, because is seeing what your friend sent you immediately really worth losing your life? Especially when you have the full capability of seeing it when you are safely parked. I personally feel this addiction is from a fear of missing out on knowledge, few people actually participate in life but everyone wants to consume what is going on. When teenagers get into their car it is to do something productive like go to work, grocery shopping, or even hanging out with friends to build connection, but this insecurity that their life is not good enough and they need to be consuming the life of celebrities is what leads to this addiction to distraction. Knowing the precautions of what safe driving looks like is helpful but will not solve the problem, in order to exterminate a pest you don’t just get rid of one cockroach you must find the hive. The reason people are so distracted these days is because they have a feeling of insignificance, but feel they can do nothing about it because to get out of the feeling of insignificance requires them to do something uncomfortable, which in our “Instance comfort” society is a foreign concept. People need to be given purpose again, they need to feel something again. Now, how do we incorporate this into safe driving information? You can start by building meaning within, this whole peer pressure phenomenon would not be a problem if people felt nothing to prove, but teenagers are so insecure because they don’t have a solid self-image. When I was in school every kid I knew was vaping, doing hard drugs, drinking alcohol, and experimenting sexually, all in the 8th grade (13 years old.) I had numerous people call me weird for not participating in any of this as well as having no interest in dating, however I was not tempted to change my ways because since I was young my priority in life was achieving my life purpose. I studied myself, became familiar with who I am and what I wanted out of this life, I created a reason for living within myself so the interest in risk taking behavior was non-existent because I valued my life. The issue is not as plain as teenagers being inexperienced drivers, the issue is low self-image. If we make it a priority to incorporate self-confidence in our teachings, telling people how to truly see their value, they would not dare to participate in activities that harm themselves, thank you for reading.