Getting a driver's license is a rite of passage that many teenagers look forward to as a first step toward freedom. Although jumping into the driver's seat is easy, driving safely and responsibly is often challenging for teens due to immaturity, overconfidence, lack of skills and experience, and driving distractions. These challenges lead to teen driving having some of the highest accident and fatality rates. To help overcome some of these challenges, states have laws that help prepare teen drivers by requiring new drivers to have restricted driving privileges and supervised driving experiences before becoming fully licensed. Unfortunately, there is difficulty in compliance and implementation due to many schools eliminating driver education courses, making parents the primary educators for teaching these skills.
The importance and value of driver education are evident when comparing the accident rates of those students who have taken formal driver education training to those who have gone the less structured route of having a permit and logged driving with a 'licensed' driver. There are three areas that may help increase teen driving confidence and reduce the number of driving-related deaths: providing driving instruction courses in school, using automotive safety technologies, and providing insurance rate incentives.
The University of Nebraska did a study, and the results showed that young drivers who did not complete driving education are 75% more likely to get a traffic ticket, 24% more likely to be involved in a fatal or injury accident, and 16% more likely to have an accident. Only 53% of teens took a state-approved driver education course to qualify for the license. The remainder qualified by logging 50 hours of practice driving under the supervision of a parent or other adult. During their first year of driving, the group who took driver's ed had significantly fewer accidents and traffic tickets than those who logged 50 driving hours.
No driver is a good driver as soon as they obtain their license. In the "olden days," Mississippi residents would have to pass a driving road test. This test would be monitored to determine whether an individual would be granted a license; however, many State Departments of Motor Vehicles (DMVs) recently switched to documentation qualifications. No physical supervised driving test is required as of 2020. Without new drivers being experienced in driving, it can be dangerous on the roads. In the state of Mississippi, driver education classes have been removed from the high school curriculum. Obtaining a learner's permit at age 15 only requires documentation and waiting a certain number of months before going back to get a full license at age 16. Alternatively, if one waits until age 17, they can get their license with no permit or required number of supervised driving hours. Passing a computerized test is all that is required. A supervised road test is no longer required.
There is no single point of driver education that has reduced teenage driving accidents and fatalities. Most states require a pre-license period called "getting your learner's permit." Usually, this is a pretest, filling out forms and then getting a learner’s permit, which allows the student driver to drive with another licensed driver for a specified number of hours. Most states have pre-license requirements, but there needs to be a compliance method to ensure implementation.
Reinstating a mandatory comprehensive driving education course in schools would cover three areas of driving: learning the rules of the road, simulation experiences, and actual road experience with a certified driving instructor. The course should be a semester-long or summer-intensive high school sophomore or junior-year course. There is also the option to take an independent private driving course outside of school; however, those come with a price tag many people cannot afford.
Like any skill, driving must be explained, experienced, and displayed for someone to understand. It is essential to find a way for an individual to learn more about being on the road. Therefore, driver education courses should be administered and required in high school because that is when teenagers are in the early stages of driving independently. These classes often require certified instructors who spot where an individual can improve. A new driver may think they know all the facts and rules, but as soon as they are behind the wheel, they will experience the reality of being a defensive driver. Defensive drivers actively practice awareness about what is around them and what dangerous situations they could encounter when operating a vehicle.
With better awareness and education about driving, automotive manufacturers have built-in sensory devices to help drivers be more aware of things that are harder to determine from the driver's seat, like lane line assistance, automatic braking assistance, and backup cameras. Automatic seat belts should be required as wearing a seatbelt could prevent many accident fatalities.
Teenage driving behaviors can be risky and include driving when drowsy, driving after drinking alcohol, and being distracted by devices such as phones and radios, as well as other passengers. Driving while distracted replaces driving while intoxicated, although driving drunk is also an issue. However, teens are easily distracted by other tasks like eating, drinking coffee, putting on makeup, changing the music, responding to phone notifications, and having other teens in the car. Despite the popular idea that one can "multi-task," the mind does not work that way. Driving requires a complex set of skills to control the car, pay attention to speed, weather conditions, and traffic levels, and make quick decisions to avoid crashing. Driving is a skill that requires a person's full attention. Some states limit the number of unrelated teens in a car with a teen driver. Placing a phone in driving mode also helps reduce distractions. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent of driving at 55 MPH or traveling the length of an entire football field, blindfolded.
In a study by NHTSA, teen drivers were two and a half times more likely to engage in potentially risky driving when accompanied by another teen compared to when alone; in fact, research shows that the risk of a fatal crash goes up in direct relation to the number of teenagers in the car. Tragically, it was discovered that motor vehicle crashes are the number 1 leading cause of death for teenagers, and 1 in 3 will die from a fatal car accident. Although cars can go up to 200 MPH, new drivers must remember that just because a car can go 200 MPH does not mean it should go 200 MPH. However, if a teen thinks about speeding, it is often because they have seen someone else do it and believe the action to be alright. Parents play a significant role in this and must be a good role model driver. Parents should not speed, use their phones, or be distracted when driving because they set an example for acceptable driving skills.
Immaturity and inexperience are two causes contributing to teenage fatalities in car accidents. A few ways automobile manufacturers could help drivers is by providing automatic assistive technological devices such as driver-assisted technology, automatic seat belts, lane technology, and speed technology. These advancements could help restrict teens from being reckless or overconfident in their driving skills. Undoubtedly, the featured devices would help reduce the number of fatalities resulting from distractions and speed.
Many of my family members have been involved in accidents. My sister hit a patch of ice, spun out, hit a curb, and broke her rear axle. My father had been hit by two cars on separate occasions. In one, the driver mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brake and hit my father on his bike. My father was ten years old and was in the hospital, in a coma, for six weeks. A second time, another driver just did not see the children playing ball, and when the driver swerved, he hit my father; he again wound up in the hospital and suffered from trauma-induced epilepsy from his head injury, which he suffered with for the rest of his life. One of my father's friends' daughters died because there was a driver at a stoplight. The driver anticipated the light was going to change when he hit the gas and ran into several students still in the crosswalk, killing the only daughter of my father's friend. Fortunately, I have never been in a bad car accident. Unfortunately, the same does not go for two of my friends. During the late night hours of a Saturday, they were being reckless and "having fun" doing dangerous car stunts with a truck, like drifting and trying to do "the Dukes of Hazzard train jump," which involves going to high speed over a train track hump in order to catch air for a few daring moments. It did not go according to plan, and when they went over the track and landed, the driver lost control of the unbalanced distribution of the truck's weight, and they flipped and spun out. The truck only stopped spinning when it slammed into a bunch of trees. The right side, where the passenger was sitting, was wrapped entirely around the tree, and he was pinned in critical condition. The driver was less injured. I have never experienced such feelings of angst and gut-wrenching worry for friends. Not knowing what was going on with them was awful. Then, I heard from one of my friends Monday afternoon, and he told me he would have to undergo surgery and wear a brace for a long time and had to give up his sport of swimming for the season. I was sorry for him as a person having to endure that and as a fellow swim teammate. The doctors told him he could not swim for a while. He has overcome most of his injuries and can swim again this year. However, he still has lingering back injuries. This shows how being a reckless driver can have many consequences, which they will carry forever.
Currently, most insurance companies give discounts to students with good grades, but that does not mean they are good drivers. Insurance companies could offer a discount incentive to those who have taken a driver education course either through school or an independent driving school.
In conclusion, driving has become practical and essential in many areas, especially those with inadequate public transportation. Statistics from years prior show that new teen drivers who take driving courses are slightly better drivers than those teenagers who do not. Those numbers show that before drivers had educational experience, those who did not and secured a license put everyone at risk. Combining innovative driving technologies and limiting driving distractions, such as using a car mode feature on the phone, and insurance incentives go a long way in potentially decreasing the amount of car accident fatalities. Still, those who undergo lessons give hope to those around them and are trustworthy. With driver education and safety technologies, drivers can be comfortable behind the wheel, resulting in fewer teen fatalities and safer roads.