The Timeless Value of Persisting Automotive Responsibility

Obtaining a drivers’ license can be considered one of the peak, most anticipated moments of an individual’s adolescence – a defining aspect of the enthralling teenage experience. While the moment is considered a triumph and an accomplishment for many teenagers on the brink of revitalizing adulthood, it cannot be neglected that earning one’s drivers’ license is a privilege, as opposed to a right. Teenagers, just as anyone else hoping to accrue the title and benefits of a license, must prove themselves as capable and worthy drivers. However, the harsh reality stands that the privileges of owning a drivers’ license can be revoked in seconds, due to irresponsible, reckless, and careless driving exhibited on the road.

Although my family, close friends, and I are fortunate enough to have never been in the scenario of a severe car crash ourselves, I have witnessed drivers on the road that partake in both risky behavior and reckless driving that could result in a life-altering car wreck. While sharing the road with irresponsible drivers is an unfortunate reality, doing so reinstates the importance of taking the necessary precautions and a high degree of responsibility for one’s individual actions on the road, both for new and experienced motorists. According to the CDC, in 2019 alone, 424,000 individuals were injured in crashes involving one distracted party. While the statistics are staggering, they only continue to attest to the reality that there is an abundance of distracted drivers on the streets, but distractions aren’t the only factor toward devastating accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a branch under the U.S. Department of Transportation, offers equally jarring statistics, including the fact that there are 32 daily fatalities due to drunk driving – another manifestation of reckless driving. Additionally, NHTSA confirms that in 2020, 11,654 individuals passed away from drunk-driving collisions, constituting a 14% increase compared to 2019’s statistics on drunk driving fatalities.

Furthermore, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues to report that in just the year 2021 itself, 42,915 individuals unfortunately lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents, designating an alarming 10.5% increase from 2020. Fortunately, there are a plethora of steps, precautions, and actions individuals can take to reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving. Distractions will always be imminent, but it is imperative to understand how to minimize their presence and appeal behind the wheel. Primarily, especially for new drivers who are still practicing how to devote the apex of their attention to driving safely, cell phones and additional handheld devices can be kept out of arm’s reach. Whether that entails devices being placed in the glove compartment, backseat, or a secure center console in the vehicle, prohibiting one’s access to these distracting devices is a priceless, necessary precaution to take for drivers of all ages. After all, the NHTSA continues to affirm that around 400 fatal crashes occur yearly due to texting and driving incidents – these cell phones serving as one of the primary causes of distracted driving. While minimizing distractions – even down to who one’s passengers are in the vehicle, and their own respective degrees of responsibility – is one step that should be enacted to reduce the number of driving-related deaths, administering a greater degree of mandatory driver’s education courses in a classroom setting should also be a priority for administrators and students.

Being enrolled in a driver’s education course is another imperative milestone in a teenager’s life, seamlessly bridging the gap between old and new methods of receiving transportation for young teenagers. Currently, only 32 out of 50 states offer mandatory driver’s education programs for new, learning or aspiring drivers. Only 64% of states have these courses as a necessity for teens. Implementing more outreach programs, as well as driver’s education courses themselves, to teens in underrepresented states that lack this equal level of guidance is an incredibly valuable first step to take in order to minimize the number of deaths related to driving. Being enrolled in a driver’s education course not only provides teens and adolescents with a greater sense of autonomy and responsibility behind the wheel, but enrollment in the course also forces them to apply their skills absorbed into the classroom toward the physical task of operating a vehicle. This two-way sense of physical and traditional learning not only molds safer new drivers as a whole, but also forces these students to be immersed in true driving scenarios and situations they otherwise would encounter with minimal guidance or instruction from professions and teachers. Overall, due to their ability to mold teens into becoming more alert, aware, and responsive drivers, driver’s education courses are extremely beneficial toward reducing the total amount of deaths attributed to driving, and more of these programs should be offered nationwide to promote safer driving habits for all.

Finally, there are some steps, in conjunction with the aforementioned advice, that I myself can take to be a better and safer driver, as well as assisting others toward becoming safer drivers on a daily basis. For starters, I already always ensure that my cell phone or other devices are out of reach when I am driving, regardless of what my intended destination is. I also use additional features like auditory – as opposed to visual – navigation, so I am not taking my eyes off the road to view on-screen directions to my current destination. I follow this same rule of thumb when it comes to adjusting the radio or other auditory features in my car – I make sure to only make adjustments when pulled over or parked safely, in a safe area. Small adjustments like this are some of the greatest pieces of advice I have followed in my recent years as a teen driver, and some of the most valuable lessons I intend to pass on to others aiming to become safer on the road.

In sum, obtaining the licensing and qualifications to drive independently as a teenager is a privilege, as well as a great degree of responsibility, one that will follow adolescents into their respective adulthoods. Therefore, it goes without saying that adopting responsible driving practices, habits, and ideologies at a young age, even starting as early as the time teens find themselves enrolled in their first driver’s education course, will pay them back with a plethora of benefits in the long run. Whether these benefits present themselves in the form of cheaper insurance rates, more rewards and recognitions for safe driving under the motorist’s name, or most importantly, avoiding one’s involvement in a dangerous, even fatal crash or accident, all of these positive outcomes should not be taken for granted, and appreciated by drivers of all ages, backgrounds, and lifestyles, especially drivers in our current youth population.