When it comes to driving, you start to realize how important it is for everyone to be as safe as possible, especially if you are new to it. No matter if the vehicle is a car, bus, pick-up truck, or even a forklift, you should still be able to recognize how dangerous mishandling such a large, mobile contraption like that can be to yourself and the people around you. On one hand being a communication major has made me more aware of certain ways of thinking that effect many people like fear mongering, or cultivation theory, which is the theory that long term exposure to media (especially ones that focus on violence or negativity) can shape a persons reality and overall outlook on life. On the the other hand, I see at least two to four accidents a week, which makes me curious as to if the fear mongering on the subject is a warranted thing to do for something like driving. Saying all of that to say that whether we are seeing the danger or not, comparing it to worse things going on, or not understanding the magnitude of it, does not make it any less real. This all brings me to the topic we are here to talk about today and how being new to something as dangerous as driving can have many variables to it.
Teen drivers are an interesting group of people to be behind the wheel. My main reasons for saying this is because there are a new group of them that are just starting out every year at the early age of 16, cause they are now being shown the area they live in an almost overwhelming way, and because of difference in each car/driving style each teen is being taught with. Teen driving safety is a key issue because of how important everybody should be treating it, not just the DMVs, the teen themselves, and their guardians. I find it extremely useful that schools and youth programs (for the most part) all have some type of way to show younger people must drive that find themselves being interested. Driver’s education plays a major part in disclosing to people how much certain topics are important, and what should be addressed and gone over more throughly than others. This brings us our next question of what some of the biggest issues are that teen drivers are facing right now. When I was first learning to drive four years ago, one of the biggest things that everyone harped on was my phone not being out, so I could 100% focus on what was in front of me. Even things like putting on music or driving with friends was strongly discouraged, since those are both things that you might feel you have to tend to more during certain moments as a new driver, when the only thing you should be thinking about is your driving and the road. When it comes to teen drivers who lack experience in many different areas on the road, it is important for them to just get to your destination as safety as possible, which includes them make safe turns, watching out for up coming sign/people, and not remembering that whatever you need to grab or look at can wait until you get to your destination or until you pull over. An experience that made me very privy to these dangers was when I was leaving out for work one morning as it was snowing, and my car slid on a patch of black ice, sending me into a nearby pond. This not only totaled my car but also created a huge backlog of cars on both sides of the road as the tow truck came to grab my car. My stepdad asked me what I did when I felt the cars first slide and after I told him, he explained to me that I did the wrong thing and that he nor any other instructor had ever taught the right thing to do in that situation. Because of what happened, I now know what to do in a moment like that and can also send that learned experience to others to also help them. Am I saying that you need to get in an accident to learn something? No. What I am saying is that as a new driver, there are many things that are impossible to imagine even with the proper explanation. The best course of action to help remember so many important things like that are to give yourself mini refreshers overtime to ensure you will have the best chances of evading danger, minimizing injuring, and keeping yourself and others safe.
In the end, one of the best ways to be a safe teen driver is to constantly practice staying alert and removing as many distractions as possible from your surroundings while behind the wheel. Whether you must silence your phone, wait to change the music, or keep conversations with friends to a minimum, giving you full attention to the road allows you to react quickly to unexpected situations and make better decisions in the present, and future. Building this habit early on not only strengthens your skills as a new driver but also helps ensure the safety of both you and everyone sharing the road with you at the time.