Licensed To Drive

Late one night, I was aimlessly flipping through channels and cursing myself for even being up this late knowing I have a full day ahead of me. It was 2:00 AM!

I was ready to doze of but the television caught my eye and I began watching the movie Licensed To Drive.

Considering that I got my license only 6 months ago, and working has me constantly involved in making life easier for teens to get their first experience of independence....I turned the volume up, grabbed a blanket and settled in to what I personally found a ride of its own.

Set in the 1980's Les (Corey Haim) is about to go through one of the most important adolescent rites-of-passage. Les is preparing to take his driver's license exam. He is overly confident that he will not only pass the exam with flying colors but is also looking forward to taking out Mercedes, an older blonde babe played by Heather Graham.

There are of course the 3 nerdy friends who are depending on you to pass your test and free them from the atrocious rides they are forced to deal with from their parentals. Les and his twin sister (the overachiever and exact opposite of Les) goes to DMV to take the first written exam. After getting 4 wrong, Les hits the computer screen and shuts down the system by accident.

Personally, I was surprised to see a movie from the 80's where permit tests are taken on computers....its 2007 and we don't have that privilege.

Anyhow, his test information was lost due to system malfunction and because his twin sister passed Les is allowed to go on to take the driving exam. I was laughing hysterically as Les got into the car to take his test, only to be told by the instructor that he doesn't believe in clipboards and checkpoints. Therefore Les's challenge was based on driving carefully enough not to spill the instructors coffee. As Les is getting his picture taken and already grinning broadly from passing the drivers test...he is told that his written test results were retrieved and he FAILED.

That word echoes through his mind as he walk home, only to walk into a living room and lie to his parents about his test. Later that evening while mom is doing laundry, she of course finds the test results in his pocket and grounds Les.

But nevertheless, he does what we all did at one point. He waits patiently until the house is quiet and asleep, then slips out into the dark night and "borrows" his grandfather’s vintage sky blue caddy. After getting behind that wheel, the night is young for Les and his friends.

What Les doesn't realize is that in one night...everything that can possibly go wrong does and his whole world crashes in an instance.

Because I was born in the late 80's I was so intrigued by the manners, the cars, and the general life style back then. Yet as times change, teens and the overwhelming process of not only getting a license, but getting behind the wheel and listing to your favorite tape, or ipod in my case while cruising down the street to pick up friends will always stay the same.

Written by Dasha Vasilyeva

Car Talk: Hooptie vs. New

Most teens would definitely prefer driving a new car over a hooptie. Unless you're one of those teens from MTV's hit show Sweet Sixteen, chances are you'll be getting a hand-me-down.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with driving a used car. I mean, I drive one myself, a 1999 two door Honda Civic EX from my mom.

As shallow as it may sound, when it comes to cars we value style, appearance, performance, size (not too large but enough room for friends), and accessories (custom equipment). Ideally, your car projects your personality, but it also conveys other things: a sense of freedom and maybe, to a degree, desire for peer approval. Of course, it also helps get us to school or work and back.

Parents want their kids to have a safe car. They weigh economical merits (purchase price, miles on a gallon, operation and maintenance costs), reliability, and insurance rates. Teens expected to pay their own way may also start looking into these things early on.

Cost plays a major factor. This is where the issue of used-versus-new comes in. Getting a used car can be less expensive than buying a new car, but they can also be less dependable, require unexpected repairs, have less safety equipment, and may not be as attractive as newer models. The nice thing about getting a used car is that in some cases your insurance rate can be less costly.

If you’re curious about what kind of cars are out there, we have a neat little resource where you can check out new, used and pre-owned cars in your area.

Newer cars tend to have better safety equipment, better reliability, improved gas mileage, and, in some cases, lower insurance rates - because of better safety and reliability.

Top 10 cars:
1) Ford Focus ZX3
2) Scion-Braun xB Rampvan
3) Honda Civic
4) Hyundai Accent
5) Kia Optima
6) Honda Fit
7) Pontiac G5
8) Mazda 3
10) Toyota Corolla

If you end up buying one of these cars, you definitely won’t have a problem getting seen. Just remember that mobility comes with responsibility. Drive safely!

Written by Dave Arizabal

Dave Gets Excited About Alcohol Statistics

"I’m okay to drive." Sound familiar? It does to me. I've heard it many times from friends, family, and acquaintances after a few or more drinks.

We've all heard the saying "friends don't let friends drive drunk." But most of us are guilty of letting someone we know drive home after putting alcohol in their systems.

In high school, at least among my friends, this wasn’t that big of an issue. But I saw this happen a lot in college.

Now that I’m working here and learning a lot more about the statistical atmosphere surrounding driver education, it bothers me to discover how many adolescent drivers are dying alcohol-related deaths.

We all know alcohol can impair your judgment, and by acting on this knowledge, these deaths can be avoided. While it may not seem like a big deal to drive a few miles home, the risk of drunk driving can change your life in one tragic and dark moment.

Some stats:

• In 2001, 46,000 high school seniors nationwide suffered a crash while under the influence of alcohol
• Someone dies in an alcohol-related car accident every half hour
• 60 percent of all teen deaths in car accidents somehow involve alcohol

And here's more:

• According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 17,013 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2003
• In a single year, 522 children under age 14 were arrested for driving while intoxicated, 113 under 10 years old. This is crazy! No one under the age of 16 should be driving, let alone 10! Worst of all they're intoxicated!
• Also in 2003, 25 percent of 15- to 20-year-old drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking; 19 percent were drunk

Is the risk of becoming one of these statistics worth your life? This is rhetorical, but let me go ahead and answer it – I don’t think so!

Of course not everyone is aware of these statistics, and even if everyone were, it’s not like we’d remember them after getting drunk. But even when we have been drinking, we do have the common sense to know – somewhere in the back of our minds – that we’re taking a risk every time we nod toward a friend's concerned face and go, “I’m okay to drive.”

We often fail to realize how big the risk really is, and how ill-prepared we are for what could happen behind the wheel when we’ve been drinking.

So what's being done?

In 1995 Congress passed a zero-tolerance law that all states adopted by 1999. This regulation restricts drivers under 21 from having any amount of alcohol in their bodies while driving, and this law is strictly enforced.

While the law permits those 21 and over to have a 0.08 percent Blood Alcohol Content (BAC), for teens, any blood alcohol level beyond 0.01 percent is STRICTLY illegal. If caught, you’ll be treated like an adult with a 0.08 percent BAC.

Have you ever talked to somebody who got a DUI? That situation sucks. You’re looking at a long miserable night in jail, 12 hours of traffic school (online traffic school won’t help there), a massive fine (a few thousand dollars, usually) and an indefinitely suspended license. The law is not friendly toward drunk drivers, and when you think about how many lives they put to risk, they really shouldn’t be anyway.

There are other consequences to consider when you drink and drive. Besides getting your car towed and license suspended, not to mention the mental pressures put on you and your family, your insurance rates skyrocket. I hate to be superficial but getting caught driving drunk, even if you don’t injure anybody, can be a huge financial disaster.

So when you’re out with friends and having drinks, listen for the famous “I’m okay to drive” line. If you hear it, step up and say, "I'll get you a cab" or "You can sleep on the couch" - anything to prevent that person from driving.

It's not so easy in practice, especially when you're dealing with somebody who’s fully confident in his or her ability to get behind the wheel. But make the effort anyway – take their keys or call a cab before they even think about walking out the door.

You could save a life!

For more information on drunk driving or to read stories from teens who've been there, check out DriversEd.com's I Am Not a Statistic Campaign. For a free campaign wristband, turn in your own story or artwork.

Written by Dave Arizabal

Dave Joins DriversEd.com Marketing Team

Hello, my name is Dave and I just joined the Driversed.com marketing team. I started working here two weeks ago and I must admit I get really excited every time I come to work every morning.

I know I know, it sounds corny but it’s true! Why? Two reasons:

• I get to take BART every morning, which wasn't a common mode of transportation for me growing up. Oddly enough, it's helping me adapt to a fast-paced environment.
• I really enjoy working with Angela, our Marketing Executive. She’s good at what she does and brings a positive vibe to work. And NO, I’m not brown nosing. Really.

In the time I started working here it's hit me how much has changed since I got my driver's license. I remember attending driving school near my high school and having to sit through 8 hours of class for 2 weekends straight.

The memory is vivid because the excitement of getting my license was like a high, but attending the classes was dreadful. I can barely sit still for 2 hours, let alone 8! Coupled with the dry information that makes up theoretical drivers ed, that's torture.

It was also a pain to lose my weekends. When you think about it, they're the only days you get to take off school to spend time with family and friends or do extracurricular activities.

But it wasn't all bad. One thing I liked about driving school was meeting new people my age. How often do you get to meet other city kids outside your high school?

But taking drivers ed in a classroom was part of growing up. Everybody had to do it. It's amazing to me that this rite of passage can be completed online.

If drivers ed was available online when I was in high school, it would have been neat to just take it on my computer from wherever I was after school. That would have also meant more leisure time for what I wanted to do.

Guys, take advantage! You’re only a mouse click away and you can start getting ahead with Driversed.com. Thank God technology can change things for the better.

Written by Dave Arizabal