Empower teen drivers and passengers to speak up
By Tara Caprino, current teen safe driving advocate and former Taking the Lead participant
Prom and graduation season is here again, so I’m here today to ask for help from parents before your teen heads out. Please talk to them about the importance of a driver staying focused on the road and a passenger having the courage to speak up when they are uncomfortable.
There is an incredible feeling of freedom when teens and their friends are old enough to be out on the road without adults. Even if there is nowhere to go, they get together with friends and drive around aimlessly, just because they can. Not many will admit it, but there are plenty of times when teens are in a car with friends and they don’t feel comfortable. Maybe nobody has their seat belts on or their friend is driving too fast. Maybe the music is super loud or the driver is so focused on what everybody else in the car is doing that they are not paying enough attention to the road. Many teen passengers will sit quietly, because who wants to be the one to tell their friend to slow down, or ask them to put on a seatbelt? Unfortunately, no teen wants to sound like a parent.
This used to be me before I lost one of my best friends to a car crash. I am not saying that my friend was killed because some of these not-so-smart driving habits were taking place. What I am saying is that being smart about little things like this can be one of the easiest ways you can protect yourself and others in a moving vehicle.
According to the CDC, in 2016, 2,433 teens in the United States ages 16–19 were killed and 292,742 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. That means that six teens ages 16–19 died every day due to motor vehicle crashes and hundreds more were injured. Please remind your teens and their friends that as drivers and passengers they are ALL responsible for everyone in the car. Tell them to stop worrying about sounding “lame” and to stop thinking that they are invincible, because they’re not, none of us are. Tell your teen drivers and passengers to SPEAK UP when they don’t feel safe. They need to be direct. If that does not work they can choose to get out of the car. It isn’t easy, but it is important.
Remember, their words can save lives. Isn’t that worth speaking up for?
