Teen Drivers Get Bad Rap

Kayla Clark
2.12.08

There isn’t a single driver in the world who is perfect. Everyone has forgotten a turn signal, gone 50 mph in a 45 mph zone or rolled through a stop sign. Since everyone messes up, why are teen drivers so looked down upon?

I try to follow the rules, but even I will admit that I have gone 65 mph down 370. The obvious reason is that I’m 16, so I’m a bad driver, right?

Wrong.

My age doesn’t make me any less of a good driver than my 38-year-old parents, or my 57-year-old neighbor, even if they have been driving for 20 years longer than me. I’ve driven in snow, rain, and ice, on paved roads, gravel roads and dirt roads. I know what I’m doing.

But now there are new driving laws. Not “everyone-who-drives” laws. Teen driving laws. No talking on the phone and only one non-family member in the car with you at a time. Why is it that these rules only apply to teens? Why should adults be allowed to use their phones in the car and I can’t? What if I’m going to be late to work and I need to call them and inform them of the situation? Oh, great. Now I have to find somewhere to pull off, turn my car off, call work, explain the reason, turn my car back on and keep going. Well now I’m later than I originally would have been!

Then there’s the problem of someone calling me while I’m driving. What if my dad calls me while I’m on my way home and wants me to go pick up some milk. Well now I don’t get the message until I get home because I couldn’t answer my phone. It’s a little late to stop and pick up milk, isn’t it?

Now picture this. You are walking out of the school, and your two carless friends ask you for a ride at the same time. Well, you can only have one person in your car, so pick your favorite friend!

If I were in that situation, I would take both friends. Not because I’m a rebel and I like to break the law, but because I want to be a good friend.

The reality is that most teens don’t like to follow the rules. Texting and talking on the phone are things that everyone does, not just teens. And if we can have more than one family member in our car, why should friends be any different?