Less Teens are Asking for the Keys These Days
Monday, January 25th, 2010 | posted by: Kristen
I remember my first car, my first big road trip, just how grown up I thought I was, how liberating it could be to hit the open road at 16. Of course, I had been driving on the family farm since I was 12, dodging hay bales and circling open pastures. So I knew what I was doing. Sorta.
That’s why it was such a shock when I got my first speeding ticket, got into my first fender bender, had my first flat tire, and ran out of gas for the first time. These aren’t bad memories. But they all occurred before the age of 18 and they taught me about responsibility, saving money for the unexpected, and respect for property and the safety of others. Sure, you can swipe the side of a hay bale going 20 mph and keep going but don’t expect a bumper to behave in the same way. Or for your fellow drivers to be as ambivalent as cattle.
Teenagers these days aren’t seeking out these driving experiences, according to an article by the Washington Post, and technology may be a key factor. Why beg for the car keys to hang out with your friends when you can just as easily call, text, email , send a message on facebook, or skype from the comfort of your own home? You can even play video games with your friends online– they don’t have to be in the same room, or the same country for that matter.
The teens referenced in the Post’s article also have academic pressures and don’t mind having their parents shoulder the chauffeuring responsibilities while they sit in the passenger’s seat and relax or study. Unlike my rural upbringing, these D.C. teens also have mass transit readily available. Factor in the beltway traffic, and you can’t blame anyone for not wanting to get behind the wheel.
But I still can’t help that they are missing out on something important, similar to the Midwesterner who never learned how to swim or the Southerner who has never seen snow. Sure, you can do without those things but life is richer when you dive right in!
Of course safety is first and foremost the most important lesson that inexperienced drivers need to consider. For more information for teens who are ready to buckle up and take the wheel, please visit the University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Resource Center
And call your InsTrust agent to let them know you have an new driver to include on your insurance policy.
