Good Driving Habits are Generational

Good
Driving Habits are Generational

When I was 15,
getting my license was the single most exciting thing in my life. I
could not wait to have the freedom driving gives you. Driving myself
to the mall, a friend’s house, even driving to work seemed
exciting. I grew up in South Carolina, where the law allowed anyone
at the age of 15 to get their permit and you only needed to have that
for two weeks and you could take your driver’s test. I took
Drivers ed in school and did very well and passed both
tests with ease.

Flash forward and
I now have a 15-year-old, who will be taking his permit test in two
months when he is 16. Now I look at driving in the light of a mother
who worries if her child is ready to take on the tremendous
responsibility of operating a car for the first time.

We are now in the
thick of a pandemic and my children’s schoolwork has been moved
from outside of the house to inside, so the first thing I did was go
on our state DOT website and download the printable knowledge test to
see how well his Drivers Ed class had prepared him for this next
big step in life. The knowledge test I found had over 200 questions
that I was even a little fuzzy on a few of the answers, but he passed
with flying colors. I sighed a deep sigh of relief when I saw how
well prepared he was because of the education he received in school.

Driver’s
education then and now is a worthwhile experience. My son says they
taught him all about traffic laws and went over the Driver’s
Manual, but they also taught him about insurance and how good driving
will affect your insurance rates and about the dangers of drinking
and driving. I remember being taught these same important lessons
when I was his age. Drivers ed was and still is an
important building block for everyone to become a good driver.

My mother taught
me to drive and use good judgment, which supplemented the book
learning from Drivers ed. And in a few months, I will put
my son behind the wheel and take him out on the road. I’m nervous
for him to learn, but I know that his book knowledge has to be
supplemented by lessons “in the seat” for him to get used to
navigating traffic, reading and understanding road signs and traffic
lights, and he has to get used to watching all of the cars around him
to ensure his and their safety.

When I was around
12, I was in a car accident that left me with some bumps and bruises
and whiplash. I was sitting in the back, with my seat belt buckled
but the force at which we were hit threw me forward and the seatbelt
yanked me back so hard that it gave me whiplash. I still remember the
impact and can feel the pain in my neck and throat. I think that
memory coupled with the good driving tips I received from my mother
help me drive safe and not take risks and because of that I have
never received a ticket or been the cause of any accidents. I am very
proud of my driving stats and I hope that I have modeled good
behaviors for my son. I think modeling good behavior is a very
important step in lowering the number of accidents and
driving-related fatalities. The more consistent you are with obeying
traffic laws, the more likely your children will be to do the same.

My mother is now
in her 70’s and her driving ability seems to have changed. She
takes more risks and it scares me to think that she will cause an
accident one day. Her loss of ability to make good decisions behind
the wheel has also caused me to keep my children from riding with her
and when we go anywhere, I offer to drive. I want to be respectful
because she is my mother, but I also want to ensure that my children
and/or myself arrive safely. It’s a hard thing to see something
your mother was once very good at change so drastically.

I know there will
be a day where I too will have to hang up my car keys and let my
children drive me places, but until then I will continue to model
good behaviors behind the wheel and work hard to keep everyone around
me safe while I’m on the road.