Teen Drivers and Passengers need to say No to Joy Riding

In
the fall of 2019, I was interrupted by my father while playing video
games one Sunday evening. Usually when he does this it’s just to
say goodnight, but this time something was different. He had a look
of shock and sadness in his eyes and after about 5 seconds I found
out why. He let me know that my brother and his friends had gotten
in a car accident, and that my brother was in the hospital and his
condition was unknown. We got in the car and headed to the hospital
wondering if my brother was alive.

My
brother was one of five high school passengers in a Kia Forte, none
of which were over the age of 17, including the driver. That was the
first huge mistake. Teens under the age of 18 who have their license
should not have more than two people in the car unless they are
family, which in this case, they were not. Maybe if one of them had
stepped up to acknowledge the fact that they had too many people in
the car things would have ended differently. Joy riding should never
be a way for teens to kill time and this must be stressed in every
drivers ed class.

Once
my brother and his friends filled the car they set out to go “hill
hopping” or in other words, they set out to drive recklessly. The
area in which they were driving consisted of many winding roads which
according to the locals, “teens hill hopped all the time after”.
It was while hill hopping that the driver lost control of the car,
doing 80 in a 30, and slammed the right side of the car into a tree,
killing my brother’s 17-year-old friend and breaking my brother’s
collar bone and cheek bone as well as causing him a serious
concussion. The driver himself also ended up in an induced coma due
to severe head injury. Thankfully all of them were smart enough to
wear their seatbelts or I have no doubt that they all would have been
killed. If anyone in the car had realized the danger they were
putting themselves in and stepped out of the car before they drove
off or spoke up that the joy ride was a bad idea, I’ve no doubt
none of this would have ever happened.

Teens
should realize that while they are behind the wheel their lives as
well as others in the car can be at risk if they are breaking the
rules of the road. Rules are in place for a reason. If the driver
of the car had followed the speed limit, did not overload his car
with too many kids and drive recklessly, my brother wouldn’t have
had to have gone through this and his friend would still be alive.
Even if the passengers had said something before they all got in the
car, this nightmare could have been erased. It’s so important that
not only drivers but passengers understand and follow the steps to be
better and safer drivers. If a teen passenger experiences the driver
doing something unsafe or against the rules, they need to speak up!
Driving education must continually teach new drivers how to be safe,
what the rules of the road are and the importance of following those
rules. Following the speed limit, the rules as to how many kids are
allowed in the car and not driving distracted or under the influence
saves lives. Sadly, the accident my brother was in will now be a
cautionary tale to other teens in our area. Maybe the only good
thing to come out of the accident is that maybe kids will think twice
before hill hopping.

Driving
is something that makes teens feel as if they are growing up and
becoming adults but teens need to learn that it’s not driving that
makes you mature, it’s driving responsibly that is the true sign of
maturity. For me personally, in order to be a safe driver, I always
wear my seatbelt and enforce my passengers to do the same, I follow
the speed limit, I put my phone away and out of sight to avoid being
distracted and I pay attention to other cars around me. I have two
younger siblings who will be driving soon and I want to make sure
they emulate these good habits so they will also be safer drivers.