Experience Speaks For Itself

As someone who is learning to drive (my driving test is scheduled for tomorrow on the day I’m writing this), I’m all too aware of the inherent risks associated with driving. I think it’s safe to assume that every one of us has seen at least some form of a power point presentation telling us to ‘don’t drink and drive’, but there’s much more nuance to driving than just “driving while intoxicated will kill you”.

For me, in the state of California, I was required to take a 6-hour driving class which I spilt into 3, 2-hour sessions. Having a licensed driving instructor drive with you really helped me apply the things I read in the handbook to real life. It cemented my understanding of the importance of being aware of your surroundings when driving.

Being a new driver means that I’m generally cautious, which, from what I’ve observed from other drivers seems to be a very good thing. I regularly see people cut in front of others without signaling, speed through yellow lights, tailgating, and my mom and I have even made a game out of counting how many people run red lights (we’re at 190 over the span of 3 months). It’s alarming the sheer number of stories my friends have told me about how they “nearly got in a car accident” or had to “swerve into the other lane to avoid hitting a pedestrian”.

I can’t write this essay without mentioning distractions. People on their phones at red lights, doing their makeup, or even just shifting through the junk in their consoles are an all too common occurrence. A split-second decision or lapse of judgment can result in fender-benders or worse. It seems to me that no distractions while driving should be common sense, but apparently not. 21% of fatal crashes among teen drivers (15-19 years old) were known to be using their phones*.

Weather conditions are also something that many people don’t consider to be of major importance. On the contrary, living in such a huge state, you have to be aware of the climate you are traveling to. Taking a 3-hour drive up to Lake Tahoe is simple enough during the spring and summer, but during the winter you need to be aware of the weather. Will you need chains? What roads have been closed due to snow and ice? Can you even get to your destination still? Additionally, when we do get rains, they’re usually pretty heavy and owing to how dry California is most of the year, it sits there for a while, leading to large lakes forming in roads. I’ve seen people brazenly speed through the water, underestimating how deep it goes and hydroplaning or flooding their engines.

Today (11/20) happens to be the 21-year anniversary of my mom’s friend’s son dying in a car accident. He was a passenger in the vehicle traveling 35 mph on an old farm road. The driver overcorrected his turn and 2 of the 3 people in the car were killed. They were 17. They weren’t drinking, and it was during the day. They were just going to the store during an open period to get something to eat. I think this highlights another big factor in driver awareness; inexperience.

It always felt off that 15 and ½ year-olds are allowed to drive, even if an experienced driver supervises them. Why can I operate heavy machinery, but not have the right to vote? A good idea might be to only allow people to get their driver’s license when they’re 18, as well as make the time you need to drive with an instructor much longer. Another suggestion would be to only allow new drivers driving time with a licensed instructor as opposed to just a licensed driver like a parent. It may even alleviate bickering and provide a safer environment to drive in as instructors have their own brake and accelerator pedals to use. The longer time span would give new drivers the opportunity to gain much more experience before they’re trusted with the responsibility of driving alone. Driving with an instructor could also teach them more about driving safely and their state laws. When I started out I was terrified to change lanes and my spacial awareness of the car was poor. I’ve noticed increased confidence in my driving skills just this school year alone. I drive to and from school, meaning that I drive around an hour a day in usually busy traffic. I also got into the mindset that driving is not playing bumper cars; people aren’t trying to ram into me, and it really helped.

Driving will always have the potential to be dangerous, but there are ways to educate new drivers to be better aware of their actions on the roads. Raising the minimum age of a driver’s license to 18 and forcing new drivers to gain experience with licensed instructors are just a few ways to hopefully make the roads a safer place.

*Insurance Institute for Highway Safety