Teen Drivers - Alex Lucia

People have always known that teenagers are not exactly the most responsible of drivers. Parents and authority figures see us as reckless, irresponsible liabilities behind the wheel, and so far, we haven’t done a very good job at disproving these statements. Now this is usually where I would tell the reader how these rumors are all false, but this is where I tell you that it’s all true.

December 17, 2009: It was an especially frigid winter afternoon just outside the small quiet town of Bristol, on the straight away just after the road to south starksboro. The sound of the engine in my friend’s pickup truck is the only sound to be heard, no cares, no worries, besides the Subaru raging towards us at approximately 60 miles-per-hour. (I failed to mention we were on the opposite side of the road going about 70 and a car was in the right lane directly next to us showing no signs of reducing speed.) The placid quietness of the interior of the truck was broken by the words “Oh geez!” as my friend abruptly jerked the wheel to the right, coming just feet from a fatal head-on collision, and merely inches from clipping the car to the right of us. Now there’s a new problem to confront- the fact that were going 70, fish tailing at a 45 degree angle with a car directly behind us on icy road conditions. For about the next 50 feet, my friend tried to even us out, and not skid off the road and finally we were facing straight. There was silence for a few seconds, followed by uncontrollable laughter.

This story is one hundred percent true, and is a perfect example of how teen carelessness puts lives in danger. Statistics show that teens are most likely to get in accidents; this is because they are inexperienced, reckless, and tend not to drive alone which causes distractions. I am not trying to say that teens shouldn’t be allowed to drive, but that one should take extra caution around them. Besides, everybody needs to gain experience somehow.
All in all, drivers ages sixteen to nineteen are more likely to cause or be involved in car accidents due to their lack of experience and the fact that they get distracted easily. So if you are around any younger drivers, be careful, you might find yourself heading towards a fishtailing pickup truck going 70 with a bunch of kids in it.