Hopping into a brand new car, you can feel the smooth steering wheel while sitting on the leather seats. Extending your arm over, you grab the buckle and secure it while the car starts. Contemplating where to go, all that is left is shifting the gear, pushing on the gas and zooming off to your next destination that independence can take you to.
Driving is a huge rite of passage that many people go through at one point or another during their lifetime. With benefits like the freedom to drive wherever, along with risks like crashing, it can be an exciting and overwhelming experience at the same time.
This journey, for many people, begins freshmen and sophomore year as students learn to drive.
LSE sophomore, Maddie Kirk, recently got her driver’s license and has been on the road since early January. She recalls feeling a range of emotions when she first started driving with her sister in Gere Branch Library’s parking lot.
”I was kind of scared, but I was prepared,” Kirk said. “You’re more free, you don’t have to find a ride anywhere and you can just drive yourself more places.”
Meanwhile, she believes that there are multiple disadvantages and risks to driving as well.
“You can get [in] a crash and it’s also very expensive. It makes your insurance go up,” Kirk said.
LSE sophomore, Calla Harris, started in similar conditions to Kirk, driving in Southwest’s parking lot with her dad. However, Harris had different feelings towards driving, especially as she progressed to highways.
“I was more nervous than anything. I’ve heard a lot of bad things happen while driving, and getting pushed to go onto highways was scary since the quick increase in speed from a regular road to highway is intense,” Harris said.
Along with Kirk, she enjoys the newfound freedom of being able to drive on her own. “I do feel that there are more things that I can do since I don’t have to pester my parents to go somewhere other than home,” Harris said.
However, the price for the benefits always comes with risks that she recognizes as well.
“Some risks of driving are anxiety, the potential for crashes, and the risk of other drivers that aren’t paying attention around you,” said Harris.
Even with a large amount of practice, there are personal discomforts that still occur for any driver that is on the road, whether it’s about their driving or others.
“I’m still like a little nerve-wracked with yellow arrows, I almost got into a crash because I wasn’t looking and they honked at me,” Kirk said.
“I’m not completely comfortable with driving now. I have a lot of discomfort with aggressive drivers, and driving at night,” Harris said.
Additionally, particularly in the winter time, it’s hard for new drivers to start learning with the possible conditions on the roads. Snow, sleet, and ice can all accumulate on the ground after a storm, adding to the risks of driving, especially to the ones that don’t have experience dealing with this weather as well as people who have driven for a while.
Overall driving is a huge rite of passage that proves to have its own variety of benefits and risks for each person. These two sophomores provide recommendations for any future drivers that will be on the road soon, continuing the cycle.
“I’d say don’t text and drive, and pay attention,” Kirk said.
“Look around. Not just the roads and signs, but literally everywhere else around you. Look at other cars, follow them, and use your eyes to not only look forward, but to the sides,” Harris said.
