Pennsylvania teens need lessons on safe driving habits

Getting a driver’s license is a big part of being a teenager. For many teens, a driver’s license fosters a sense of freedom and independence that is a crucial step on the path to adulthood.

Unfortunately, getting a driver’s license also opens teens up to a whole host of new safety risks. Teens tend to have decision-making skills that are not as well developed as adults’. Combine this with relative inexperience behind the wheel, and it is easy to see why teen drivers are more likely than any other age group to be involved in a fatal accident.

Safety groups and law enforcement offices in Pennsylvania are working to reverse this trend. They are going into local high schools to have frank conversations with students about how to avoid risky driving behaviors. They also explain – sometimes graphically – what the real consequences of dangerous driving can be.

Distraction and intoxication the biggest threats

Distracted driving and intoxicated driving are two of the biggest safety risks teen drivers face. As such, many of the driving safety programs in Pennsylvania focus on educating teens about the dangers of these behaviors.

Because cellphones have become such an omnipresent factor in teens’ lives, many young people do not understand just how dangerous texting while driving can be. On average, it takes about five seconds to send a text message. At highway speeds, that means a driver’s eyes are off the road for more than 300 feet. By the time a driver recognizes a hazard, it can be too late to react.

Further, while many teens understand that drunk driving is dangerous and illegal, not all of them realize that it is just as dangerous to be under the influence of other intoxicants. Being high on commonly-abused substances such as marijuana, inhalants or over-the-counter drugs like cough syrup or cold medicine (sometimes called “robotripping”) greatly increases the chance that a teen driver will be involved in a car accident. If that happens, police can test the teen’s blood for illicit substances and the teen can be charged with crimes including gross negligence and aggravated assault by motor vehicle.

Safety starts with education

In an attempt to help teens become safer drivers, Pennsylvania has implemented a graduated driver’s license scheme that gradually introduces young people to the responsibilities of driving. The law limits the times of day during which new drivers can operate a vehicle, as well as the number of passengers they are allowed to carry.

However, it is important to remember that the law can only do so much to keep teens safe. Ultimately, safety starts and ends with teens themselves. Teens must be equipped with the knowledge they need to make safe decisions behind the wheel. Only then will they be able to fully recognize and avoid dangerous driving habits.