New cars, worse drivers
With Newer Cars Come Harder Hits
Everyone’s first car is a very important point in life. Though for some, their cars are much nicer than others. Yet as it seems those with nicer cars tend to get into more accidents. About 39% of students who answered a survey sent out to all SJHS students said they’ve gotten into a car accident. A good chunk of those students had nicer cars.
The range of cars in the SJ student parking lot varies from cars about to fall apart to brand new sparkling ones. While each story behind each car will vary drastically, no new driver needs a new car.
It’s hard to define a “nice” car specifically, so to make it easier, a nice car will be considered a car either above 2012 or a known “nicer” brand car (in reference to teenagers, so probably anything above a Toyota Corolla would work). By this logic, about 30% of cars (of those who answered the survey) had “nice” cars.
Madison Jackson, 11, drives a 2019 Audi Q3.
“I got it from my grandparents. In their will, it says they want to treat all of their grandkids to their first car, since there’s only a few of us,” Madison said.
While Madison hasn’t gotten in an accident, 39% of SJHS has.
“I would say I am a decent driver. Obviously, we all have our moments where it’s not our best driving, but overall, I am a decent driver,” Madison said.
Teenagers have the tendency to overestimate their ability to drive. From phones to other cars, distractions are becoming more and more prominent. I don’t understand why some parents will buy their kids brand new cars. It’s nothing personal against anyone, but the likelihood of a teenager getting into a car accident is four times more likely than any other age group.
There have been so many times when kids in the parking lot have almost hit me because whatever is on their screens is better than paying attention to driving. Now I’m not innocent of this either. I’ve gotten in one accident in my life: three weeks after getting my license. Was it my fault? Yes and no, but thank god I was driving my VW Jetta instead of my dad’s Mercedes.
The most annoying thing is the younger generations inability to park. Half the spots in the parking lot available are taken up by crooked cars and unaware sophomores. The entire layout of the parking lot has changed because of this.
It’s a tale as old as time, fast cars getting into fatal wrecks and expensive cars getting into nasty fender-benders. Some cars are more recognized for their accidents. According to autoevolution.com, the two most “fatal” cars are Infiniti’s and Pontiac’s. While there aren’t any Infiniti’s in the parking lot, there are a few Pontiacs, so watch out next time you see one in a rush.
graphic by ben williams