Driving in the Slow Lane

Teenagers are said to be in one of the most impressionable stages of their lives. In the fight to fit in, many fall victim to peer pressure throughout high school. The only difference is where or when they break to the pressure. Sometimes it may be pressure to present first in class, other times it could be pressure from your friends to show-off a hidden talent but sometimes it is of a more dangerous nature. For example, it could be a friend begging for a ride home when your car already has one passenger. It could also be a passenger urging the driver to race their friends once the light turns green. Worst of all, it could be someone trying to convince another that they are sober enough to drive. While most of society chalks this up to teenagers simply being irrational, emotional and impulsive creatures I think that the problem is much more profound- people are not educated enough about the consequences of poor choices while driving.

When we study the process of receiving one’s license in British Columbia it seems exceptionally thorough. To begin, you must study and pass your written exam. Studying for many of my classmates simply involved flipping through the study guide and doing a few practice exams before writing and passing the exam. From my experience I hardly did more, reading through the important chapters and taking some notes. However, while I was tested in detail about certain traffic rules and signs, not one question on my exam was about the consequences of poor decisions while driving. Perhaps it is assumed that the answers to these questions are logical, however, if statistics tell us anything drivers apparently do not understand. While some people would argue that teenagers and learning drivers are not responsible for all of these accidents, they are currently learning the driving practices that they will most likely turn to for the rest of their lives. Therefore, if they learn bad habits now then those are likely to stick for the rest of their driving years. That is why it is important to educate youth on how their decisions on the road can impact others.

Personally, I had the privilege of participating in a three day course where we learned about all aspects of driving in a classroom setting. These were different than the lessons at school where a liaison officer tells the students to not drive while under the influence. From learning about imperative car fluids to watching safety videos about the dangers of speeding, these lessons were far more thorough. We even took tests on subjects such as the top ten reasons why young drivers take risks. For me, I discovered that while driving lessons taught me how to be a good, N-worthy driver, the classroom lessons taught me how best to use my car. These lessons made a huge difference for me in realizing the benefits of being a defensive and safe driver. However, many people my age do not have such a privilege. This shows through their willingness to take risks while driving.

I have been in the cars of people who were inclined to take these chances whether that meant racing their friends down a road or speeding to reach their destination faster. Through these experiences, I realized perhaps some of the hardest concepts to master. These are not difficult physical driving concepts such as at which point to stop at a yellow light or deciding who gets to go next at a four way stop rather they would be in regards to how to be a smart driver. The first would be making sure that I never succumb to peer pressure or the natural desire to be accepted, instead I would ensure that I understand at all times that I am responsible for my passengers’ lives while they are in my car. The second would be learning to be comfortable setting boundaries with other drivers. While I have been in cars with risk-taking drivers a few times, I have always been too uncomfortable with the idea of confrontation to ask them to slow down or stop the car and let me out. Afterall, who was I to ruin their fun? Who was I to police their actions? Only now have I begun to understand that I have every right to set those boundaries if their decisions could negatively impact my life or the lives of those around me. While I have not had a chance to practice these lessons in real life situations, I fully intend to, now that I understand their importance.

Overall, new driver education is becoming more thorough in terms of length of process in British Columbia. This progression starts with a knowledge test before a year of practice as an L with a supervisor. After you pass a rigorous road test you must drive for two years before doing an additional road test to earn your class 5 license. However, young drivers are still not being educated in-depth about the consequences of dangerous driving. This paired with an alarming combination of wanting to be accepted and not yet being comfortable with setting boundaries is the environment in which new drivers enter the fast paced world of operating vehicles.To combat this perilous combination, more emphasis should be placed on in class learning and the consequences of taking risks on the road. Allowing youth to understand the fallout of their actions could make a significant difference in the current crash statistics because while it might not be younger drivers causing all of the accidents today, they are the drivers of tomorrow.