Teen
Driver Safety


By Lauren Melo


Teen driver’s can
have a different perception of what is “safe” driving. Just one
text, just one change of the radio station, just one time not wearing
a seat belt, it’s that one time that can change everything. I
think most teens don’t think anything bad will happen to them, bad
things happen to other people in their opinion.


I have been in the
car with friends many times when they have taken a call, or been on
face time or texted while driving. It scared me because I knew what
could’ve happened, but I wasn’t brave enough to say something at
the time.

Psychologists say
that teens are in a stage of development where they feel that they
are invincible, that it won’t happen to them. I must have moved on
from that stage of development, because I know it could happen to me.
I’m fully aware of the dangers of driving while doing anything
else but driving. Driving isn’t an activity that can be
multi-tasked.


When I was a
beginning driver, I was in an accident with a friend driving. We
were delivering luminarias around town, and we had just stopped at
McDonald’s for a drink. We were driving on a two-way road, and I
was putting straws in the drinks. I was looking down so I didn’t
see what happened, but in a flash, we rear-ended the car in front of
us. We weren’t going too fast, we were focused on getting our
drinks ready. Innocent as it was, we could’ve been seriously
hurt. Thank goodness, we were uninjured. I knew after that
accident, I could get into an accident at any time, and I could get
hurt.


I am a very careful
driver now and I go out of my way to make sure that everyone in my
vehicle has a seatbelt on at all times. I refuse to take my phone
out or do anything but drive when I am behind the wheel. The car
accident that I was in with my friend when we were new drivers opened
my eyes to the reality of what could happen when driving. It might
not be my fault, but I could still end up in an accident and injured,
so I have to do everything in my power to make sure I am as safe of a
driver as possible.


That accident might
have saved my life in some way. At least that’s how I choose to
look at what happened. There was a reason it happened. I believe.