For every teen, receiving their driver’s license is a huge milestone. Having your license gives young teens their first taste of freedom. But few of them know or understand the responsibility being a driver is. The safety of teen drivers, including myself, is a concern. Through education, awareness, and action, we can change the story of tragedy that touches so many people’s lives.
According to dmvedu.org, “an average of 34,000 people die each year as a result of driving. This is more people who have died in one year as a result of driving, than the total number of American soldiers who have died from war in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.” It is no secret that young, inexperienced teen drivers can help add to or take away from this devastating number. As a resident of Idaho, I was allowed to start my driver’s education program when I was fourteen and a half- just barely out of middle school. At such a young age, it was hard to truly understand that my actions on the road could affect someone else’s life, even end one, if I was not careful. As I began drives with my instructor, he made sure to emphasize the importance of being focused, calm, and alert while driving. I still remember videos made to remind new young drivers that driving is about watching everyone around you in my online driver’s education course. Throughout my drives and online courses, one thing was clear to me: I had a responsibility to be a safe driver.
As I began my driving journey, I did not have the experience necessary to be a good driver. Teen drivers do not always know or understand all the rules. They may be scared to do things, and sometimes their inexperience can be deadly to others. The most important way to overcome this is practice with a parent or trusted adult. I have learned so much from my mom and dad as they drive and when I drive with them. My dad is a little bit more of a relaxed driver, while my mom is more aggressive, so I have learned to fall into the middle. When I began, my inexperience was balanced by my parent’s advice. Now, when crossing a busy road, I look back and forth several times, just like my dad. Then I know when to brave the gaps, smart but fast, like my mom. Parents set examples for their children. They can influence them to be safe and smart drivers.
As I stated before, my dad has taught me to look both ways several times when crossing a road. While that is so important, it is not something that you would think to be important at a light, or a four way, would you? It seems this way, but both my dad and myself have learned to always look both ways. When my dad was a young teen, he had a green light, so he went. But when he got to the middle, another car who ran a red light crashed into him. He did not break a single rule, and yet the other driver’s carelessness, teen or not, put him in a crash. Luckily, my dad was fine, and did not sustain any major injuries from the accident. The same thing happened to my mom when she was younger. Green light, careless drive, crash. Because of these accidents, my dad has always told me that even if the light turns green, I should look both ways to make sure that everyone was stopped. He has told me that doing this has saved him from other crashes, as cars blow right through red lights when he had a green. These stories and warning are what inspires me to not go at a four-way once. It was my turn, and the only other person was a car that was not quite as the four-way. But as I went to push the brake, I remembered my dad’s stories and looked at the car one more time. It was not slowing down, so I waited. Sure enough, it blew through the stop sign, which would have been a certain crash had I went. Ever since then, I have remembered to be aware of other cars everywhere, but especially at four-ways and stoplights.
As teen drivers, we have a responsibility to become the new generation of safe drivers. We can promote safer driving in several ways. For example, when I am in a car with my friends, I always put my seatbelt on. Though I am usually the first, everyone else follows moments later, after they see my attempts to keep myself safe. You can encourage your friends to stay off their phone while driving, and if music is playing, make sure that it is not blasting loud enough to be a distraction to the driver. For schools, they can encourage teens driving to school to be safe. My school’s student council even made an entertaining video to promote safe driving in our parking lot. Communities can support teen drivers by not sighing when they go the speed limit, or come to a complete stop at a four-way. It is so important for us teen drivers to understand that our safe driving can save lives.
As I continue to drive each day, whether to school or work, I continue to learn. I have learned skills from my parents that I will carry with me through the rest of my life. My goal as a teen driver is to be safe, and influence those around me to be safe. Because after all, being a safe driver is a responsibility.