On September 1, 2016, I was on a phone call that I could never forget. I was in Armenia, and my dad was in Los Angeles, driving. He was on the phone with me, asking me what I wanted for my birthday, which was only a couple of days away. As I was telling him about the details of the bike that I wanted, I heard a sudden bang. First, there was honking, then silence eroded by ears. My heart instantly dropped. I immediately thought of the worst. For an entire minute, I was screaming for my dad. After a minute, he picked up the phone and told me that he was fine, nothing had happened. He couldn't go into detail about the crash to a 7-year-old, but I knew what had happened. After a couple of months, I found out that my dad was hit by a teenager who was running a red light. His entire car was totaled, but thankfully, my dad walked out with minor injuries. Although the injuries were minor, the impact it had on me was major. Even though I was not in the car, hearing that sound and not knowing what had happened made me fearful of driving, and from then on, the last thing I wanted to do was get behind the wheel.
Teen driving is not simply a concern; it is a pressing issue with life-changing ramifications. Whenever an individual, whether a teenager or an adult, gets behind the wheel, they hold the power of life and death. That may sound dramatic, but it’s true. They have the choice of how to behave, think, and act behind the wheel, putting the safety of others and themselves in their hands. This is where driver’s education makes a really large impact. Driver’s education is not simply a “You have to do this to get your pink slip, so you can go grab your permit, and then wait 6 months to get your license.” It’s not something to play in the background whilst you scroll through social media platforms, and pretend that what is playing does not exist. It’s something that teaches drivers the core values and ethics of driving, and the privilege that people have to be able to commit to doing this task every day.
I remember when I had just turned 15 ½ years old, my state’s required age to begin preparing for my licensure, I did not want to do it. That would mean I would have to get behind the wheel and uphold this major responsibility. It’s not that I couldn’t do it, I was just scared to. My dad would always ask me, “Did you start your Driver's Education?” and my response would always be, “I’ll start it soon. I’ve been busy with school.” What my dad didn’t know was that I had that exact day, playing in my mind over and over again anytime someone mentioned the word “driving” to me. After the nagging, I decided that I should just do it to get it over with. I could get my license, but that didn’t mean I would have to do any driving. That was my logic.
It wasn’t until I started these lessons that I understood how valuable they were. Driver’s education helps promote safe driving skills and confidence, even when you don’t have the experience. They don’t just teach what to do when you see a one-way or all-way stop sign. These programs help teach awareness, defensive driving, and the consequences that come with distracted driving. Students are able to learn the importance of safe driving, as they are put into scenarios where there can be sudden changes on the road, speed limit changes, and even some emotional scenarios that can affect their driving, such as peer pressure. Driver’s education is crucial in helping teens understand the responsibility that they have to those on the road, and in their vehicle, teaching teens the importance of taking accountability for the way that they behave and think on the road.
Some of the most well-recognized problems that lead to drastic outcomes result from our digital devices, and even our friends. Despite there being many laws preventing being on the phone whilst driving, many teens have developed a habit of picking up their phones whenever they feel it vibrate or make a “ding” sound. They pick up their phones to complete one-second tasks, such as switching the music that is playing or using Google Maps to check to see how far away the next turn is, but what many teenagers don’t realize is how much can happen in just one second. In just one second, a light can turn red, a car can merge into your lane, and a pedestrian might start crossing the street. Looking away for just one second can lead to a lifetime of consequences, so is it worth taking? Peer pressure is another challenge that many teens are facing. Having someone in your passenger seat telling you, “Go faster, we’re going to be late!” or just you simply trying to impress your friends with reckless driving, can lead to all sorts of outcomes, many of which are not ones one would expect after trying to do something for an instant.
Overcoming these challenges is crucial if we want to maintain safe driving on the road. For distractions, teens should be taught to use certain software capabilities that allow them to turn off incoming notifications, allowing teens to stay focused on the road, rather than the notifications that come from their phones. Setting a playlist before driving is another way to prevent a teen from picking up their phone, simply because they do not like the song that is playing. Communities can also play a large role in creating safety on the road. Local governments can increase access to low-cost driver’s education for those who cannot afford it. Schools can partner with individuals who have experience with reckless driving, and have them make an emotional impact on students who will one day be the ones driving.
Driver’s education is not simply a check box that you have to fill, instead it is something necessary to build confidence and awareness amongst the next generation of individuals who will hold the lives of everyone on the road in their hands. With the right mix of education, community support, and learned responsibility, we can create safer roads not just for teens, but for everyone, whether on the road or crossing the street.