Driving Under the Influence of Anxiety

I
take my seat in the back of my third period physics class and jot
down the problem on the board. If
Sally crashes into a stationary vehicle at 12 m/s, how fast will she
go through the windshield if she isn’t wearing a seatbelt?
I pause and remember that my grandpa is giving me my first official
driving lesson after school today. My heart beats noticeably faster.

Three
hours later, I drive aimlessly in an empty parking lot, gripping a
steering wheel slick with my sweat. My grandfather frantically tells
me to brake before I drive onto a meadow, but I barely hear him over
the erratic pulse of my own heart. The seatbelt stretches across my
chest as I lean forward and reposition my foot on the brake pedal.
However, I forget my footing, and accidently accelerate the car. My
grandfather laughs as I park the car on the muddy grass. He promises
that he’s not upset, as he backs the car into the parking lot with
startling ease. But that isn’t the point. I had allowed myself to
lose my composure while being in control of a speeding hunk of metal
weighing several thousand pounds. If I had been on a major road, I
could have become one of over 300,000 teenagers killed or injured
annually in traffic accidents (“Teen Drivers: Get the Facts”
para. 2).

Modern
teenagers are constantly inundated with sobering statistics about our
peers becoming victims of deadly car crashes. According to the CDC,
about 40 people are killed daily in car accidents involving impaired
or otherwise distracted drivers. Knowing these facts can make
aspiring drivers nervous about getting behind the wheel. However, it
is important to consider what actions society can take to prevent
these serious accidents.

The
obvious answers spring to mind: prevent people from driving under the
influence of drugs, or alcohol, or their cell phones. Here the impact
drivers ed has had on creating safer roads for people of
all ages becomes apparent. A study done by the University of Nebraska
found that drivers ed “significantly reduces crashes and…
alcohol related violations” (“Study: Drivers ed significantly
reduces teen crashes, tickets” para. 1). In spreading awareness
about dangerous driving behavior through drivers ed,
society has effectively caused a decline in said behavior. It also
creates drivers more confident in their skills, decreasing their
anxiety when operating a vehicle.

Above
all, it is critical to remain calm and cognizant of your surroundings
when operating a car, and to inform others about the importance of
drivers ed. While anxiety behind the wheel is hardly a
comforting situation, it is also not unwarranted given the widespread
existence of reckless drivers. However, drivers ed both
reduces the prevalence of dangerous driving habits and the phenomenon
of driver’s anxiety.

Works
Cited

1. “Study:
   Drivers ed significantly reduces teen crashes, tickets.” UNL
   News Releases,
   University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Aug. 13, 2015.
   https://newsroom.unl.edu/releases/2015/08/13/Study:+Driver’s+ed+significantly+reduces+teen+crashes,+tickets

2. “Teen
   Drivers: Get the Facts.” Motor
   Vehicle Safety, Center
   for Disease Control and Prevention. Oct. 30, 2019.
   https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html