Teen Driving

Mary Norton

In today’s day and age, teen driving is so dangerous. As I have done my research, I have learned a lot about the what if’s there are when sending a young person out with car keys. When you’re younger, it is more likely that you are immature and don’t have a fully developed brain that would pull you to make wise choices when behind the wheel. Teens often love the feeling of speeding or feel cool when breaking road rules. To be honest, I did too until I totaled my car. The biggest cause of wrecks are cellular devices. Teens are already super distracted to begin with and now most cars have carplay screens that create more distractions. In one of the texts I used I found that, “Even though it’s not the top cause, text messaging is one of the most common forms of distracted driving, especially in teenagers. In 2017, 42% of high school students who drove in the past 30 days reported sending a text or email while driving. In the same year, 9% of all teen motor vehicle crash deaths involved distracted driving.” This proves that the most common teen passenger risk has been created by the use of technology while driving. Another text stated that “Peer passengers, talking or texting on a cell phone, changing the radio, eating, or applying makeup are all dangerous distractions. If the brain is thinking about anything other than driving, it can make it difficult to react during a potential crash, especially for inexperienced teen drivers.” This proves that the leading causes of teen drivers ending up in a crash are the simplest things. These causes are extremely preventable and just portray careless driving. The next thing is the effects of teen distracted driving. When driving it is easy to be careless but the “small actions” can cause “big consequences”. As hard as it is to keep this in mind when in the moment, one wrong move could cost you your car, your life, or someone else’s life. In the article I read, “From 2010 to 2019 in Minnesota, 51 percent of teens age 16-19 killed in traffic crashes were riding with a teen driver.” This shows that the consequences might not always be small. The effects of careless teen driving can be very detrimental. In the article it also quoted a guy who had heard this come from a teen, “I know a kid who had his license taken away for driving 105 mph. Then he talks about it so nonchalantly! That shouldn’t be OK.” This also shows that there are less serious consequences but they shouldn’t be taken lightly. It is very important to understand how precious life is and to risk it all just by being careless is so upsetting. There are many effects that come out of teens being reckless behind the wheel but after hearing them, hopefully teens will stay focussed and cautious. One wrong move could cost a life, your vehicle, or your privilege to be behind the wheel. In conclusion, there are many causes and effects that come alongside careless teen driving. The causes can be simple things like doing hair and makeup, biting your nails, looking in your mirror at yourself for too long, digging for things in your car, and even eating. But, there are also more extreme and most likely causes such as texting, changing the music playing in your car, using your gps, and also speeding. The effects of doing these things also range in severity. You could end up totaling your car, like I did. You could lose your license for putting yourself and others in danger. The effect could sadly even be fatal. At this age driving should be taken more seriously. I had always thought it was fun and games and that I owned the streets until my life flashed before my eyes. Sadly, it took that for me to realize that I had terrible driving habits. Remember to stay safe, be cautious, and steer clear of distractions while driving!