Sit Down and Take a Stand

Sit Down and Take a Stand

By Marcella Smith

If you had asked 12 year old me if I would like to drive a shiny, brand new race car, I most certainly would have said yes. For years, my “dream car” was a convertible Mustang, electric blue and practically glowing with waxed wheels and an impeccable paint job. Each time I saw a muscle car on the road, I would point it out to my family and say, “That’s the type of car I’m going to drive!”. I pictured myself with a pair of tinted shades, hair billowing in the perfectly cool breeze as I thundered past gaping onlookers with my awesome ride. Five years later, I look back upon that version of myself and frown. Don’t worry- it’s not because I didn’t end up with the dream car of my days as a preteen- it’s just that driving is so NOT that wild ride I had geared myself up for. Life behind the wheel is romanticized. Not just for our aspiring youth, but in all aspects of society.

Reduction of road fatality is not limited to the choices we make on the streets- it begins with the holistic reversal of an entire lifestyle that downgrades the matter of life and death that driving really is.

Today’s media and resources surrounding motor vehicle transportation repeatedly fail to respect the importance of a serious view of driving. Grease Lightning, an iconic 1978 musical, portrays that reckless driving serves as a thrilling form of entertainment and opportunity to “prove” one’s worthiness, as seen in the Thunder Road Race Scene where star character Danny wrecks his arch enemy’s vehicle, taking home a so-called win. 43 years later, countless action films such as Fast and Furious and Marvel and DC productions continue to feature reckless car escapes and crashes in a heroic light. While these types of scenes add suspense and excitement to movies, the message they send to the public only adds to the depreciation of the importance of safe driving. If film productions tell us that reckless driving equals glory, people mistakenly apply that view to the real world- and people’s lives. Eliminating reckless car driving from film and media would not only reduce filming costs which can be diverted to more ethical causes, but help to remove that sunshine and rainbow view which plagues our driving habits.

Even in driver education systems, this romanticized life behind the wheel is allowed to continue. Logically, teens preparing to earn their driver’s license must complete Drivers’ Ed. However, opportunities to do so are alarmingly limited. As the eldest child of two working parents, I did not have the opportunity to attend my city’s driving school. The sparse times that classes were offered did not align with my parents’ work schedule, and thus I became enrolled in an online driver education course. Grateful as I was to be able to complete the course to earn my permit, I regret that I was unable to attend an in-person class with mentors and educators other than my father for lessons and behind-the-wheel practice. If more schools provided on-site, free driver education, I believe we would see an exceptional increase in legal, safer teen drivers and eliminate the transportation and financial barriers that many students face.

Enter the COVID-19 pandemic: Across the world, many DPS and Drivers Education offices were closed due to health and safety reasons. Online driving courses thrived, and many frustrated teens- myself included- were prevented from scheduling an appointment to take their driver’s test. As I waited for the DPS to reopen, I watched too many of my peers make the decision to drive without a license. Picking up a carload of friends for a fast food run became the new norm as my school continued to learn virtually. I listened to people tell animated stories of “close calls”, interstate show-downs with other drivers, and the exhilarating feeling of speeding down the freeway, radio blasting as a perfect summer of parties, driving, and pure fun drew nearer and nearer. Meanwhile, I heard from many of my classmates that online driver education platforms were “too much work” or “too boring”, and that they would just wait until they turned 18 to get their license because it was “easier”. This meant that for another year, they would be driving illegally on their own. Without the in-person experience of driver education during COVID-19, many youth never received the actualizing, meaningful experience they deserve as the aspirational leaders and world changers of tomorrow.

While some circumstances of the pandemic are out of our control, our response to the adversities it has brought to driver safety are not. Driving is not a thrilling game or adventure. Each time we climb into our vehicles, we make the choice to sit down and stand up for something. Looking past the false depictions of driving is difficult. All around me, I see friends and peers who have fallen into the trap of living that romanticized life behind the wheel. Everyone who enters the road deserves to come off of it alive. We have to hold each other accountable for our actions and potential as drivers- current or aspiring. Whether it be a stern refusal or a solemn explanation, I encourage you to speak out to your friends, family, even strangers, when you see or hear these stories. Just as a smile can change someone’s day, helping someone to see past romanticized driving can save someone’s life.

I beg that you ask yourselves, every time before you turn on your vehicles, “What do I stand for?” Today, I stand for safely delivering my loved ones to their destination. Today, I stand for prioritizing my life and the lives of others over distractions. Today, I stand for respecting my privilege as a driver. Every day, I will sit down in this seat and take a stand.