Safe teen driving has been a prominent discussion in many communities recently. The impact of unsafe driving is expansive, not just affecting them, but their family, the families of the others on the road, the rest of the drivers, and the community as a whole. Everyone's lives are changed by unsafe teen driving. Driver’s Ed can help immensely with this! Understanding the effect your driving has on others, how to drive safely, and knowing what things can make driving unsafe can help prepare young drivers for smart and defensive driving. 
Some challenges teen drivers, including myself, have faced with driving is the sheer number of distractions that we have today. We have our phones, food, morning routines on the road, friends, drinks, etc. that are all pulling our attention away from the road and other drivers. I personally struggled with my phone as a distraction, and it is beyond just texting and driving. Something that seems as innocent as checking your map, could have you running into a mailbox or into another lane. Something driving schools/instructors should make drivers aware of is that something that is innocent, familiar, and part of your everyday life can actually cause danger while driving. 
There is also the difficulty of having friends in the car with you. It is something many teens look forward to, driving around with your friends, having freedom and going wherever you want! And while that is good and fun, it can be super distracting to have your friends there, laughing and having conversations. It can take your mind off of driving, and it can be harder to stand up to them if you need them to quiet down or behave calmer. You don’t want to be known as the “boring” or “party pooper” friend so many do not say anything, even if it means their driving ability decreases. If we set the expectation with the drivers beforehand that it is ok to advocate for yourself as the driver, it can be easier to stand up to them with what you need. 
The last main challenge I have seen is alcohol consumption. Many teens are raised around alcohol, parents or friends drinking, and so view it as normal to drink. But it impairs the brain, making it difficult to receive and respond to information. It is a similar problem to the issues with your friends, you don’t want to be the odd one out, not drinking, but it impacts so many people around you, so it is very important that teens stay away from drinking and driving. This is also something that driving instructors should spend a lot of time on, is underage drinking and how it affects so many people. 
Some ways to overcome these issues are get rid of the phone, have an idea of things you will and will not allow in your car, and stay away from drinking. A lot of vehicles nowadays include a touch screen that has control for music, maps, and so much more, this should be utilized! And set everything up before you are on the road. Have your destination ready to go, music on, and messages on do not disturb so that you are not even tempted to look at your phone. Standing up to your friends while driving can be so hard and scary, so having a list or an idea of what you can handle and what you cannot, can help tremendously with keeping yourself accountable with your driving as well as preparing your friends for what to expect and that you mean business. Hopefully they understand and it never gets to a point of having to be the hard person and tell them to be quiet and calm down. And lastly, staying away from drinking. If you are going to drink underage, which you shouldn’t as it is not legal, have a plan set in place for transportation. Use uber, or a designated driver, or some other transportation service so that no one is driving under the influence. This can help keep people who would not be safe on the road from driving. 
As I have previously mentioned, I struggled as a new driver with being distracted by my phone. In driving school as well as right after, it seemed easy to say, well I just won’t pick up or answer my phone. But in reality, it can be hard to not reach for your phone if you get a text, or what to skip a song, or order food. We live in a world where instant communication is desired and expected, so the mind is wired now to think, if I don’t answer right now something terrible will happen or my parents will be mad, etc. The phone is an object almost glued to people, always in a pocket or hand. It is hard to break the habit of not checking it every two minutes. But for me it was not texting that got to me, it was simply checking my map. I had become too comfortable in my driving skills and needed to make sure my directions were going and correct, and before I knew it I had crashed into my neighbor's mailbox. Thankfully no one was hurt, and the car and mailbox were fixed, but it certainly showed me that something as simple and easy as checking my location can have a huge effect on my surroundings. 
Some specific ways to promote safe driving in teens include making them aware of the small items that can affect their driving in the schools, ensure they do enough practice hours before taking the test, make them go through distracted driving to understand what it is like, and help them create the list of what they are okay with in their car vs. what they cannot and what they would say if it reaches that point. Also, educating teens on the effects of alcohol on the brain and driving, many people do not fully know or understand how it truly affects them.
As a review, teen driving is affected mainly by the phone, friends, and alcohol, and it is important they learn how to do safe driving and understand the impact of their actions as it changes more lives than their own.