As students in high school start getting their licenses, not everyone masters the skill straight away. Bad driving becomes more and more common as students proceed to get their licenses and as new drivers fill the school parking lots. The majority of students at Orono High School can say they have witnessed bad driving whether it be here, in the OHS parking lot, or in their day-to-day life.

The question that must be asked, however, is why does bad driving occur so frequently? And to what extent can we let this bad driving get to before a solution must be found?

The root of this problem definitely comes from the fact that all students who are driving in high school are fairly new drivers, no matter their class. Even after driving for 2-3 years, young drivers are not perfect and still have various experiences they must encounter in order to understand the dangers of driving and how important it is to not be distracted while driving.

“I’ve definitely seen a lot of bad driving around the school, and I think it’s because a huge number of the drivers are very new and inexperienced since a lot of kids really recently got their license,” OHS junior Lauren Labelle said.

Distracted driving is one of the most common factors that result in accidents. Teenagers, known to have phone and technology addictions, are very affected by distracted driving. Whether it is them being distracted, or another driver, it is extremely common among teenagers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association explains further the factors that cause teen drivers to bring on new dangers to the road.

“Teens aren’t ready to have the same level of driving responsibility as adults. Teen drivers have a higher rate of fatal crashes, mainly because of their immaturity, lack of skills, and lack of experience. They speed, they make mistakes, and they get distracted easily – especially if their friends are in the car”, says the NHTSA. These factors all can apply to drivers of any age and experience, however, it is crucially impacting young and inexperienced drivers.