“It only takes a second.” I have heard that phrase more times than necessary over the past year and a half. The first time I sat behind the steering wheel with my dad in the seat next to me, he dutifully laid out the rules for driving a car: no text messaging or talking on the phone, no eating while driving, always maintain the proper distance between yourself and the car in front of you, and never have your music too loud. At the time, all of those rules seemed somewhat blasé. Important, yes, but I thought, “Well, those will just apply for a my first few months of driving. After that, I can do whatever I want.” Needless to say, I was very wrong. I have had my driver’s license for a little over a year and have learned a lot through my experience. Most young drivers do not realize the importance of driving safely. Allstate Insurance Company notes, “Good driving and safe driving are not the same thing.”

Trust me, for all you teenage drivers out there, I am definitely not one to sit on my soapbox and preach about driving safely. As it turns out, the day that I decided to write this article, I rear-ended another car on the way home from school. Getting in a wreck is not an enjoyable experience, at all. It honestly scared me, even though the crash was not a bad one at all. For those of you who have gotten in a wreck, you can understand the feeling. The statistics prove that safe driving is the best choice, whether it looks cool or not. Approximately 5,000 teens are killed in car crashes every year, the majority of which are a direct result of speeding and driver error. Upon interviewing many students of driving age, I found that many students understand that safe driving is a good choice. After having his license for only a few days, one student glanced down at his MP3 player for just a second and rear-ended another driver. A couple weeks later, he was issued a speeding ticket and, thus, had his license revoked. In the state of Georgia, a mere five points on one’s license results in a suspension for six months. INSERT MORE STORIES HERE.

Driving is a serious thing. Regardless of how cool it feels to finally get your driver’s license or how much fun driving with your friends might be, you have to be safe. Dealing with the consequences of driving recklessly is not worth it. Speeding tickets are ridiculously expensive and, most of the time, you are required to go to a safe driving school after receiving one (which costs even more money). Even for “little” accidents like rear-ending someone, oftentimes a court appearance is required. Other consequences like losing your license, getting sued, and even going to jail are definitely not worth it. So, think when you drive, be smart.