Sept/Oct 2013 - Inside Chappaqua

Well It Can’t Be My Fault!
Bad Driving Habits In and Around Chappaqua
As a teen and a new driver, I catch
a lot of flack for the driving habits
of my peers. Sure, we are young and
occasionally reckless, but do we really
deserve all of this negative press?
Have we not just completed hours
upon hours of mandatory
supervised driving, classroom
time, and the most
stressful seven minutes
ever–the road test? Even if
people say that all of that
education fades quickly, we
still have the upper hand on
adults who are years out of
the education system and
simply pay homage to the
DMV to finally replace that
license photo from the age
of big hair. So, who’s the
real culprit?
The Role of Age
To my fellow teen drivers, recognize
that if people are calling on us to be
safer, more respectful drivers, there
must be a reason. Sure, driving is
exciting, exhilarating, and an opportunity
to taste responsibility and
freedom; our young age gives us a false
sense of invincibility. But the statistics
speak for themselves. According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
per mile driven, drivers ages
16 to 19 are three times more likely to
be involved in a fatal crash than drivers
over 20 years old. Numbers like
that should sicken parents and teens
alike. Those statistics alone should be
enough to encourage us to slow down,
buckle up, and most importantly not
look at that extra appendage we call a
cell phone. Textinganddrivingsafety.com
reports that drivers who are texting
are 23 times more likely to get into a
car crash, and that’s at ANY age. Three
out of every four teen drivers surveyed
felt confident in their driving abilities
while texting, yet they fail to acknowledge
that false confidence is deadly, as
car crashes are the number one cause
of death among teens.*
12 Inside Chappaqua September/October 2013
By Jordan Rosenthal
But to that point, teens are not the
only ones who use their smartphones
at every possible moment. While we
are, for the most part, more techsavvy,
adults distract themselves just
as often as teens do to send a quick
text. In fact, adults have many other
distractions they have to manage.
Teens don’t have to deal with rowdy
children in the back seat fighting over
the imaginary line in the middle that
“she crossed again!” Furthermore, I
have heard enough stories of spilled
coffee, finishing makeup, and even
shaving on the way to work to be quite
sure adults find their own distractions.
Parents are urged to be good examples,
and are charged with the responsibility
of coaching their teen drivers. I know
not everyone–including adults–signals
before pulling away from the curb in
good Driver Education fashion.
We Are No Exception
Detective Daniel Corrado of the New
Castle Police Department emphasized
that while both adults and teens are
guilty of distracted driving, the only
inherent difference is that adults
understand through experience the
subtleties of driving as well as the dangers
of being reckless. Teenage drivers
need time to learn the difference
between when they are in control of
the car and when they are not, as well
as how to drive in various conditions:
if they took Driver Ed in the summer,
for example, they have not driven
on the slick fallen leaves of autumn.
Also, very few people realize that five
seconds looking down at a cell phone
while driving 30 miles per hour means
you have traveled 220 feet. That’s
undoubtedly a low speed in the minds
of most drivers, yet whatever occurs in
that distance does not discriminate by
age, gender, or supposed skill behind
the wheel. Here in Chappaqua, the
fight against bad driving has picked
up momentum. Reports of numerous
hit-and-runs have been heard, as well
as witness accounts of people failing
to parallel park correctly, a skill us
teens are forced to perfect for the
road test. The “Chappaqua Moms”
Facebook group has been a hotbed
of discussion and complaint about
driving here in town. “I don’t
think it's about bad driving as
much as it is about a self-centered
attitude of entitlement and competitiveness
and a general lack
of consideration for our fellow
drivers who may also have equally
pressing needs to be wherever
they want to go,” noted long time
Chappaqua resident Penny Vane.
“Our Smartphone technologies only
serve to enhance and aggravate the
risks and perceived rewards of driving
self-absorbed and selfishly.”
Therein lies the answer to who is the
culprit: any driver who takes his or her
eyes off of the wheel at any time…so in
other words, EVERYONE. It cannot be
a matter of finger pointing or blamegiving.
New drivers, accept responsibility;
old drivers, you too! If you
can resolve to do one less distracting
task while driving, everyone around
you will benefit and the roads will be
exceedingly safer. Be smart, be savvy,
know your habits, and realize we’re all
in this one together.
Jordan Rosenthal is a
senior at Horace Greeley
High School. Growing
up, his favorite book was
Tikki Tikki Tembo.
Editor’s Note: DORC (Distracted
Operators Risk Casualties), a non
profit organization started by the Liebermans
of Chappaqua after their son
Evan died two years ago following a
terrible car accident (see Evan’s Legacy
story on page 10 too) has also spurred
a great deal of conversation locally and
state wide about teenage texting and
driving, in particular.
For more info, visit www.dorcs.org.