Early February 2023, I had taken my younger brother and his friend to a basketball game at a high school. It was a regular February Friday evening, cold weather, but the roads were good, and everybody was in good mood. I wasn't driving too fast or too aggressively, just going at a normal pace like usual. When I went through a green light at an intersection, my life changed forever. There was another car that also blew the red light and hit us directly on my side of the car. It' was one of those things where so much occurs so rapidly, yet time just kind of slows down as well. I could hear the metal crunching, the glass shattering, and then we spun around. When it all came to an end, I glanced around to see how my brother and his friend were, and they were scared but unharmed. I later found out that the other driver was a group of teenagers who had been smoking weed. That accident wasn't my fault, but it made me realize how serious teen driving is.
Teen driver safety is more important than most people know, especially for people our age. Car crashes are one of the leading causes of teen deaths, and nine times out of ten, they're completely preventable. It's not necessarily always a "bad driver", its distractions, peer pressure, or simply just not thinking. Teen drivers have a lot on their minds in the road. We're still learning, we get distracted too easily, and we sometimes let the pressure of our friends get the best of us. Add in phones, blaring music, and even just trying to impress, and you have a disaster waiting to happen. And when you add drugs to the mix, like when I had the crash, it’s even worse. The really bad thing about it is that teens typically don't imagine that something bad will happen to them, until something does.
Driver's ed is helpful for learning the basic fundamentals but can't prepare you for everything. You read the laws, drive at a slow pace, and maybe look at some crash footage, but that is not the same as being out there in real situations. No instructor can teach you to react to the situation when a red-light is ran. What young people need most is to take driving seriously each time they sit in the driver's seat. That's having your phone on silent, being present, and making responsible choices, even if your friends aren't. It's being brave enough to say something when something doesn't feel right. If your friend is speeding down the road or is under the influence, you need to say something. Sure, it will be awkward, but it will be way less of a problem than being in the hospital, or worse.
That accident taught me how fast things can turn bad , even when you're traveling exactly in the right direction. One second, we were just driving to a basketball game, and the next we could've been in an ambulance. I think about how fortunate we were that nobody got seriously injured. But it could've gone either way easily. It changed the way I drive now. I look closer, I check intersections even when I have the green light, and I don't drive up too close to the lines. Not only for me, but for the other people sitting in the car with me, and the people in other cars, as well.
What can be done to make teen driving safer? First, the teens themselves must be more responsible. We can't stop everything from happening, but we can stop our actions. Don't drive while distracted, don't drive while drunk, and don't let other people guilt you into doing something stupid. Schools can enhance driver's ed to make it more realistic, such as having people come in who have been in wrecks or lost someone. Those types of stories stick with you while lectures typically don't. Communities can also do a better job with more safe ride events, DUI checks, and events that encourage safe driving. When you know that the people around you are worried and watching, you drive with more caution.
Driving provides a lot of freedom, but with it comes responsibility. I learned that lesson the hard way. And while I'll never forget that night, I hope I never have to live through something similar again. I hope sharing my experience saves one person from making a worse choice. Because safe driving isn't about avoiding ticket, it's about getting everyone home safely.ed