Teenagers are experts at pushing boundaries. I’ll admit it: I’m no exception. Whether sneaking a phone glance at dinner or telling your parents you’re “headed to study,” then ending up at In-N-Out two cities over, we high schoolers have turned harmless rule-bending into an art.
But ask those same teens if they’d shoplift or vandalize something, most would balk. We may push limits at home, but we still draw lines. We like to think we still believe in right and wrong, especially regarding the law.
If we’re truly as virtuous as we claim, isn’t it paradoxical that nearly 80% of teens admit to breaking the California law that bans drivers under 18 from carrying passengers under 20 in their first year, as noted by the U.S. Department of Transportation?
The provisional passenger restriction isn’t arbitrary. It exists to protect us, since crash rates for 16- and 17-year-olds are exponentially higher than those of older drivers. Add peers into the mix and that risk only increases.
Yet, for many teens, violating this rule doesn’t feel criminal. It feels expected.
I’ve had my license for eight months now. My parents’ “no passengers” rule is clear: break the rule and I’m grounded, whether the drive is two blocks or even if a friend’s mom asks me for a favor to drive her kid. They’ve ensured I understand the stakes: If you get into an accident while ignoring the restriction, you could lose insurance coverage — or worse, face license suspension, a devastating blow for teens just beginning to experience long-awaited freedom.
Even with all that hanging over our heads, watching friends with more permissive parents who’ve adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell” attitude or even, yes, actively encourage their underage kids to drive others, makes me feel like I’m the only one following the law.
After all, we grew up with movies like “Grease” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” where teen driving meant not just a way to get from point A to point B but also a way to bond with others. Today, social media continues the narrative with drive-thru vlogs, late-night car karaoke and passenger-seat confessionals that suggest real teenage life unfolds behind the wheel beside your best friends.
As soon as you get your license, you have the keys to becoming the facilitator of memories, the glue of plans, the difference between someone showing up and someone missing out. Saying “no” to a ride feels like rejecting someone’s joy, and there’s a genuine fear it might cost you their friendship.
So no, my urge to break the restriction isn’t just because I want to practice legal defiance. Rather, acting in compliance makes me an outsider, like I’m missing all the fun.
Part of what makes the law so easy to break is the belief that consequences won’t follow. I’ve lost count of how often I’ve heard: “You’ll just get a warning,” or “Cops don’t care about that.” It’s all too easy to adopt the mantra: “Everyone else does it, so what’s the harm?”
And, to an extent, the statistics are on the side of these flouting teens. According to the DMV, only 3% of 16-year-old drivers are convicted of violating passenger restrictions. Compare this to the majority of teens who self-reported a violation, and a false sense of security can be easily understood.
Following the restriction is a yearlong tug-of-war between fitting in and doing what’s right. In a world in which maturity is too often defined by risk-taking, there’s something powerful about teenagers choosing to resist peer pressure in the name of safety or principle.
Still, watching others drive their friends, I wonder how many moments I’ve traded for safety and integrity, and what I’ve lost by holding back.
I’ve nearly made it. Eight months of saying no. Of eye rolls. Of missed plans. When the day finally comes, when I can pull up with friends in the car, windows down, music blasting, I know the wait will be worth it.
Maddie Shoop-Gardner is a junior at Carlmont High School in Belmont. Student News appears in the weekend edition. You can email Student News at news@smdailyjournal.com
(2) comments
Thanks for your Student News column today, Ms. Shoop-Gardner, and for an inside look into peer pressure. Just remember that it’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye, or worse. Don’t be one of those who will experience any of those situations due to peer pressure. Ultimately, you want to be one of those who can pull up with friends in the car, windows down, music blasting until well after retirement. Good luck.
Hang in there, you are almost there! I am sad to say I didn't hold out as long as your parents. My son was one of the first to get his license in his grade so the pressure was immense. And I'm Gen X so my teen life was like the movies you mentioned. He said the first time he drove other kids he told them "No yelling, don't touch the controls and pretend I'm your mom!" But you are right the cops don't care- he got pulled over because they ran the wrong plates and his car came up registered in another state but cop didn't say a word about the other kids. He became "legal" last week which is s relief for all.
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