As a 19-year-old female driver in our present technology-saturated, high-speed world, I've discovered that driving is not just a rite of passage, it's a huge and one-way responsibility. Teen driver safety is an urgent public issue, one that extends beyond the drivers themselves to reach all of us who travel the roads beside them. Teenagers are confronted with an intimidating set of risks with every spin behind the wheel, and it doesn’t take statistics from all over the nation to know that car crashes continue to be one of the primary killers of American teenagers. The reason it is so is the lifesaving value of full driver's education, instructing new drivers in the techniques they need to be capable of making smart, safe, and knowledgeable decisions while on the road.

Most valuable of all is the solid foundation it provides students in crucial courses like traffic law, defensive driving, and hazard perception. An excellent driving school program does so much more than just teach a person to turn or switch on a blinker—it teaches a culture of care, responsibility, and regard for the road. With our phones being, in essence, an appendage, the temptation to text, check social media, or look at notifications while driving is too strong. We exist in a multitasking era, but on the roads, even a split second of distraction can be catastrophic. Driving schools that discuss the risks of driving while distracted and borrow from real-world examples of its effects can be an important part of helping teenage drivers change attitudes and behaviors before it is too late.

Teenage drivers have a unique and complicated group of problems these days. Some of the most common and dangerous are distractions, peer pressure, and inexperience. Distractions, especially those resulting from cell phones, are ever-present. Teens are oblivious to the risk of just taking a quick glance to read a text message or change music while driving, believing that they can multitask. But the research indicates that only a two-second distraction is all it takes to create a fatal crash. In addition to distractions, peer pressure can also influence teenagers to engage in unsafe driving habits like speeding, racing, or neglecting the wearing of seatbelts to impress peers. This pressure can be especially fatal for teen drivers who are yet to develop their skill and level of confidence. Lastly, inexperience is a major cause of teen driving accidents. New drivers just haven't had a sufficient variety of driving experience—like bad weather, busy traffic, or emergencies—to learn to respond safely and in a timely manner.

It will take more than schooling, however, to remedy and overcome these causes. It requires a commitment on an individual level to make a change. One habit that I've developed and which has actually enhanced my own safety on the roads is switching on the "Do Not Disturb" option on my phone before I've even turned the car on. It's a simple action that takes me out of the temptation of reading messages or checking notifications while on the move. I also found that having a trusted adult to practice with, driving under different conditions, and following well-mapped routes when it is available has helped me become a safer and more confident driver. Awareness of the strengths and weaknesses and taking initiative to practice on it is part of learning to be a safe driver.

I will never forget an experience I had about a month ago. My family and I were driving home from sugarland to our home in Iowa Colony. The street was busy and my mom was watching the road carefully while my brother and I were calmly enjoying the ride home in the back and passenger seats. As we were approaching a street light, a svu driver slams into the side of us in an attempt to inattentively merge into our lane. The entire situation was terrifying for all of us & although we were not the ones at fault, my family and I quickly realized how even a split second of distracted driving can change the entire perspective of the rest of someone’s life. It helped me understand just how fast things can go wrong when your thoughts wander off the road, even briefly. Since then, I've done my best to keep the phone far from driving and it's something I encourage all my friends to do too.

Attempting to make teen driving culture safer must be attempts coming from all sides. Teenagers can control their own destiny by vowing to drive sober, wearing seat belts at all times, and refraining from riding with friends who drive under dangerous circumstances. Schools can enhance driver's ed instruction by adding in-text simulations, actual crash statistics, and emotional accounts of those who have lost loved ones to teen driving accidents. Such narratives can personalize the risks. Societies can help by supporting public information campaigns, offering free defensive driving instruction, and making secure, reliable options like public transit or ride services easily accessible to teens, especially for drunk driving.

Driver's ed is far more than an annoying requirement for a driver's license. It is an invaluable, even lifesaving tool that can educate teens on safe, responsible road driving. With growing pressure and distractions that younger generations are confronting today, we need firm school programs, healthy communities, and self-disciplined drivers than ever before. Safe driving is not a short-term goal—safe driving is a lifetime habit that starts the very first time we drive. With one glance at a phone having the potential to change everything in this world, leading by example and spreading good safe driving habits cannot be more important.