ALT-1 Common Mistakes of a Newly Licensed Driver
I took driver's education when I was 17 years old. Yes, that is ancient in teen years but I took my time because a. I didn't have a car and wouldn't be getting one and b. my best friend already had one and drove me everywhere.
While we drove around in her car - yes I drove the car, too, sans license - we ate, smoked, drank (alcoholic beverages and non), put on make-up, and fiddled with the stereo system. Did I mention that the car had a standard transmission? And that there were 5 of us in the car?
Okay, so this was before personal communication devices and thus before cell phone calls, text messaging, iPods, mobile email and teenagers on meth.
So let's assume that our new teen driver is squeaky clean and is involved in none of the above: cell phone is shut off and stowed in the glove compartment, the radio is off and not a distraction, seat belts are on, both hands on the wheel at 10 and 2, what pitfalls might still be made?
1. Teenage drivers have not had repetitive practice at the basics of driving and so they are not as likely to react intelligently in the event of an unexpected event. Hormonal and emotional factors are working against their ability to process their responsibility as drivers.
Consider, even at the age of 20, how many times you have: checked your mirrors, both side and rear-view, adjusted speed, spied out lights, signs, pedestrians and other outside objects and made adjustments without even having to think about it. These adjustments take time and focus without all of the aforementioned distractions. The newly minted teenage driver will have to newly perform these actions in the first several months of driving and navigate the emotional and mental responsibilities of operating a vehicle.
2. Teenage drivers often do not have a sense of mortality, theirs or that of others, which can lead to minor and major errors, mistakes, and misjudgments. Teens are chemically predisposed to pursue thrill seeking experiences.
How close IS that yellow light, really? Speed limits don't really matter, right? Aren't they just speed guidelines, besides its fun to drive fast! The car is big and can protect me in an accident. Do you think we can beat that train? I've only had one beer . . .
3. Teen drivers often learn the basics of driver education in a classroom setting in a group of their peers, or directly FROM their peers.
Parents of teens often turn their child over to class instruction and trust that this will cover all they need to know (with of course a few practice sessions with mom and dad). Teens often approach classroom education with the same interest they would at school and with the same diversions. Teens watch and model behavior they see. If other teens around them have not experienced the consequences of poor driving behavior then there is little to deter other teens from following their peers.
4. Teen drivers, realistically and statistically will employ one more of the aforementioned driver distractions that lead to risky driving behavior.
Sit in the car of a teen driver and what do you see: cell phone, 6 disk changers with back-ups in the visor, soda in the cup holder, trash on the floorboard, (plus what you might not see in glove compartments, under the seat, or in their pockets) and most dangerous of all - their friends filling every other seat in the car. Each of these factors compounds the risk and contributes to mistakes.
Teens speed, use seat belts sporadically if at all, miss basics cues that contribute to driver safety, drive distracted, and resist efforts to modify their behavior.
I shutter when I think of how I drove as a teen and even more so, how clueless I was to the mistakes I was making at the time. Despite what this article suggests, I don't automatically apply these pitfalls to other teen drivers, but statistics strongly suggest that teens today struggle with the same if not more distractions and mistakes when driving yet have not developed more resources to avoid these pitfalls.
