Behind The Wheel

Ahhhhh… sweet sixteen can only mean one thing! Freedom!! When most teenagers get their license, it’s a momentous occasion. For many of us, it means finally having the freedom to go where we want, when we want. But with that freedom comes some serious responsibility.

For me, getting my license came with a very real and recent reminder of the three teens that passed away in a car crash the year prior, not even a mile away from our high school. The driver had just earned his driver’s license that week and as a special treat, his parents allowed him to drive himself to the Homecoming Dance. After the dance, kids scattered in a million different directions to get rides from parents and friends as usual. He was headed to his car when two friends approached him to check out his new car and ask for a quick ride home. He agreed and all three boys hopped in the car and sped off to head to their homes, even though their parents had offered to come pick them up.

At that moment, I was waiting for my parents to pick me up along with my friends when I heard a screech and explosion like I’ve never heard before. Everyone still waiting for rides at the school heard that same awful noise and we instantly knew there had been an accident. It didn’t take long for the ambulances and police to arrive and I’ll never forget hearing later that night that all three boys in that car had lost their lives. To say that left a lasting impression would be an understatement.

When it was my turn to get my license, I wanted to take advantage of all of the training possible. I wasn’t one of those kids running to the Department of Motor Vehicles on my sixteenth birthday. I waited a little bit because honestly, I was a bit nervous! Being a teenager is tough enough, but add in the stress of learning to drive and it can be downright overwhelming.

I enrolled in a traditional driver’s education course that also included defensive driving. According to a recent study, I learned that teens who take driver education are less likely to be involved in crashes or to receive traffic violations during their first two years of driving. The researchers concluded that this is especially meaningful because teen crash and fatality rates are highest at ages 16-18.

Every new driver needs to be properly trained before getting behind the wheel. Driver education courses are a great way to do that. These courses are designed to teach students the correct way to drive and what the laws are in their state. Drivers education programs are required by law for a reason – they give new drivers the tools they need to understand the rules of the road and drive safely.

Cars are a pretty fascinating adventure when you are a teenager. They provide convenience and comfortable transportation to get us from one destination to the other. But they can also be incredibly dangerous. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projects that an estimated 31,720 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes from January through September 2021, an increase of approximately 12% from the 28,325 fatalities projected for the first nine months of 2020. That’s an average of one death every 13 minutes. But the good news is that these deaths are preventable. There are simple steps that each of us can take to reduce the number of deaths related to poor driving. The most important are to obey laws, be predictable, avoid distractions, drive rested, and stay away from illicit drug and alcohol consumption at all times.

At this point, I’ve had my license for just over a year. While I’m certainly not a perfect driver, I do have a lot more confidence after taking the driver education class and from driving on a daily basis. I continue to learn and experience many different things while driving but I will say that my defensive driving class really helped me prepare for those situations. I’ve also learned to be responsible for my safety and the safety of my passengers by saying no if I’m not comfortable with the weather or other driving circumstances. When I was younger, I may have rolled my eyes at a parent when we wanted to go to a friend’s house and they refused to drive us, but now as a driver myself, I’ve learned that it’s a matter of safety and maturity.

So if you are a teenager that is ready to get your license, I’d suggest taking a driver education course. It could be the best decision you ever make, and it can certainly help reduce risk and provide you with some much needed skills to stay safe.