Driving, especially for teenagers who are typically drawn to it, has spurred a wide range of consequences on the road, as a bigger symptom of an always connected society fueled by technology. So therein lies the question of how to reduce the more dangerous habits of the fairly large demographic of young drivers. Roads can get very deadly in the blink of an eye, either due to the other vehicle users being unable to conduct basic road safety or in some cases, bad road planning.

However, teen drivers, like any driver, control their own choices upon the transition from student driver to license-holder. It’s likely they also choose which driver's education they took too. If the teachings weren’t good enough and strict in all the right ways, it’s hard to say the driver turned out any better. While I’ve never personally taken driver's education so far, I imagine that the absorption of knowledge would only be as effective as the instruction period too. With more and more young adults on the road than before, institutions have to find ways to engage with them that don’t detrimentally lean toward contingent retention. Show, don’t tell. I also have a couple or so tips I’ve learned as a passenger to many relatives of mine to keep drivers’ best interest in mind.

You should always hold the driver accountable for not being able to unplug. In the same way it’s on them to keep up with their grades, a passenger should tell the driver not to text and drive out of principle. They should also place as much distance between themselves and the phone, resting it on the dashboard, a vacant seat, or in their bag. The reason for doing so is to stave off temptation if it were stashed in their pocket and they become inattentive to the steering wheel.

The driver should know how to quiet the vibration, notification, and ringer noises on their device. At minimum the ringer should be kept on in case of important calls like jobs or school. They should only ever receive calls to minimize the chances of being unfocused on the road at all times. To help with the adjustment period to those who are especially addicted, it can be done in moderation to trickle down the conflicting practice to where it’ll become almost nothing.

Music is another useful trick. While preferably the driver would be using discs, for the sake of casual prevention, tuning the radio to a favorite station or connecting the phone to the car, can bring results just as well. They could assemble a lengthy and varied playlist befitting of their taste to autoplay. Of course, this should be done when the car is in park after putting on their seatbelt and turning the vehicle on so as to not complicate things.

The goal of practices such as these is to be as hands off as possible concerning devices. Additionally, if the teen driver feels pressured to do something irrational, such as drink and drive, they should respectfully turn down the whims of their “friends” to prioritize the safety of them all. Learning the power of “no” is one of the best guarantees for situations involving a degree of experience. And if that isn’t enough, it’s always a good idea to consult with their parents on good driving habits, given they will be the second most important source of information on the road. For example, I learned that the best mirror in a car is actually yourself, especially in cases involving cars or objects that are nearby. A good eyesight when looking behind beats out a parking camera (if the vehicle includes one).

In simpler terms, teen drivers should not get so caught up in the tumultuous storm of the online world or otherwise that they ignore that theirs’ along with their passengers' own lives are always at risk behind the steering wheel. I get that people are fickle sometimes and would rather not be at odds concerning simple safety procedures, but risks are a powerful thing. Any and every car ride is statistically worse than an airplane or amusement park ride could ever hope to be. Being in good standing with passengers might make all the difference in what goes on on the road. Making completely avoidable mistakes is not something that should need to be taken into account, even for ill-prepared drivers.

Patience is something teenage drivers need to build up, and understand that the road is as manueverable as any trade, so long as they remain seated and alert, because no external factors outweigh anybody’s life.