Driving is a vital part of everyday life. Most students are driven to school or driven home by a parent or a bus driver. But driving can be dangerous. In fact, the CDC states that in 2019, 258,000 teens were treated in the ER for driving crashes. This is why it is crucial to practice safe driving.
Teenagers are likely to get into crashes for several reasons. According to the CDC, these reasons include lack of experience, driving at night, being distracted, speeding, not using seatbelts and driving under the influence. These crashes can be easily prevented by following simple guidelines and rules.
A lot of teens crash due to inexperience, but this can be prevented by making sure that teenagers learned from a good, reputable source and practice in different places and elements, such as rain. By exposing people to different circumstances, they will be more prepared for unexpected situations like a sudden thunderstorm.
Another reason why teens crash is because they drive at night. People can avoid this hazard by no driving at night until they get more experience, adjusting headlights, making sure drivers are not too tired while driving and drive slower than usual so it is easier to react to unexpected events like an animal darting in the way.
Driving in the elements can also be a huge contributor to car crashes as well. Junior Nathan Fernando says that he has gotten in a car accident before because “it was like snowing and so we just lost traction.” Facing the elements can be very dangerous and that is why it is important for students to be prepared for any situation and be calm and cautious in case anything happens.
Another way students can be prepared for any situation while driving is to limit distractions. In the world of phones, distractions are everywhere. According to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, one of the common reasons that teens crash is because of distractions, mainly texting. In fact, when junior Dallen Tubbs was asked what he thinks is the cause of most car accidents he said, “distracted driving.” To prevent being distracted by a phone, teens can turn on Do Not Disturb mode and Apple phones can turn on a driving mode which will automatically put the phone in Do Not Disturb mode when someone starts driving.
The other two main reasons teens crash are driving under the influence and not using seat belts. Typically, these two things go hand in hand since those under the influence of alcohol or other substances tend to reject the idea of seatbelts. According to Edger Snyder and Associates, “63% of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes weren’t wearing seat belts.”
While driving will always be dangerous to teens and new drivers in general, there are a lot of steps teenagers can take to help make their experience safer and less stressful. It is believed by most people that if teenagers follow all these steps for safer driving, there will be a decrease in car crashes and fatality rates.
