Physics, as taught by my professor, relies on the fact that the impact of a force of one object on another equals its mass and acceleration multiplied together. Now, add a two-ton vehicle that can reach over a hundred miles per hour into this equation. Cars are dangerous, to say the very least, physics is just a scientific way of calculating the impact of unsafe driving, when adding in human lives, it is all more impactful.

Driving, after some time, becomes second nature to most drivers, as simple as writing your name or walking in a straight line. These two actions, however, do not require a large force to occur, unlike driving. This is significant because once sixteen-year-olds begin driving on their own, they are inexperienced but have a rather haughty confidence about their abilities. They have most likely had accidents—whether crash or scratch---and just proved their capabilities to the DMV. Bad habits begin. It started with my sister when she was driving a ten-year-old me home from school, one hand on the wheel, another with her phone, and her knee helping to guide the steering wheel.

It is these sixteen-year-olds to those in their early twenties who need to be safe: they are the ones on average with more freedom, meaning more time to use poor habits, to drive late at night, and to make risky decisions. They make decisions that children make when they are young after all, maturity and formula judgment come with age and experience, but this is why children are guided when they first learn to write or walk. It is a step-by-step process; they learn the alphabet, or they learn to crawl, and they steadily but surely build on each step. This is why it is incredibly important to have driver’s education focus on reducing the number of deaths because of driving. With a lack of experience, it is important to be taught the implications of driving and the impact it can not only have when driving but also the consequences that proceed afterward.

To teach safe driving, with the age of the internet, of course, attention and care are a significant part of the learning curve. Interactive videos could aid in safe driving. Long videos or readings, while a good source of information, do not exactly fit into a sixteen-year-olds attention span. Interactive videos that include questions that must be answered to proceed through the video. Including personal examples from those affected by an accident, whether the driver, passenger, friend, or family member may be a good tool for reigning in attention while utilizes someone else’s experiences. Asking questions during the video can also help retain focus while causing the student to have to use critical thinking skills, making these young drivers consider the consequences of unsafe driving.
Additionally, bringing back driver education in schools can be a step in reducing the number of deaths related to unsafe driving. Teachers play a significant role in a young driver’s life; teachers exist not only as educators in the academic sense but in life as well. I learned many important lessons from my teachers in my own life, from how to study to how to forgive those who have hurt me to how to handle public speaking. They are not only people who give out homework but also people who worked hard to get their education to guide and support the future leaders of the world. I remember one of my teachers recalling learning how to drive at school, how it first annoyed him, but working with a trusted adult outside his parents did result in him listening more. When it comes from learning to drive from a parent, while there is respect and understanding with parents, a teenager, and even young adults are more willing to disregard their parents’ experiences. After all, it is just what Mom said to do, or maybe Dad is just being overprotective. When it comes to a teacher, there could be certain certifications for teaching a student to drive, like an extra test at the DMV. A school partnership with the local police station could also be included, where the police, alongside these trusted adults, will refer to traffic laws and experiences from crashes. During these points, these young drivers can learn to drive safely while learning what makes them a safe driver and the consequences if they do not choose to be a safe driver.

There are many ways to be a safe driver, whether not driving with your knee and paying attention to the road, stopping at red light, or going the speed limit. These are just simple rules of the road as to avoid a crash or impact. For those older than sixteen, young adults have money and the freedom to participate in alcohol or other substances. They must remember the impact they can have on others, past the stage of when driving becomes a secondhand action. They can tear families apart to not let a middle schooler make it through towards their promotion. The ability to make a group of four seats in an eighth-grade middle school science class down to three, to leave an eighth-grade middle school film project incomplete with a missing actor, to make eighth graders regret their petty middle school drama at a far too young of an age. Simply because a twenty-four-year-old wanted to drink and drive because a physical impact does not only create life-threatening injuries or even death itself, but it is also those left behind who are truly impacted; they are the ones who must keep living and are left with scars that can never be healed. A mother can never forget her first child, the one who made her a mother in the first place. A younger brother will never be able to attend school without being asked if a teacher has his brother.

To not be impaired while driving while simple as well does not just include alcohol but sleep as well. In my senior year of high school, I was just at the gate to school, waiting in a line of traffic, when the car in front of me swerved, hitting the light post. It was like watching a butter knife taking off a slice of warm butter in slow motion when the light post crumbled down and turned the rounded face of the SUV into a V-shaped intention. All because the student was exhausted from the night prior and fell asleep at the wheel, and his younger sister was in the passenger seat crying with the glass from the windshield stuck in her hair. Eat, sleep, and drink—all simple innate human necessities are often a forgotten part of safe driving. You can be as careful as possible, but without a sound mind, it does not often matter when you lose control of a two-ton vehicle.

To be a safer driver myself, I will always make sure that I feel right to drive. Alright, in the sense that I am not tired, that I can focus. Alright, in the sense that I was not crying five minutes early, that I could breathe and see. Alright, in the sense that I know I have not had a drop of alcohol. Alright, in the sense that I use my blinkers and check my blind spots—so that both I and the driver behind me know when and how I can make my next move. Although I am a young driver myself, I can recall the experiences of my teachers, my mom, and my sister—I can recall the experiences of others and known when it is best to make a critical decision, whether it be to use my blinkers or to call an Uber. “In the Driver’s Seat” always, it is important to remember the impact that anyone can make, especially when the reigns you hold can go beyond any regular human limit—physically and mentally.