One set of keys. One nervous parent. One teen driver. What could possibly go wrong?

Every year, thousands of teenagers begin driver’s education, preparing for the moment when they trade the passenger seat for the driver’s seat. At South High, freshmen and sophomores are getting behind the wheel and learning a whole new world. 

The driving world can be a challenging place to understand; it comes with twists and turns you never see coming. Motor vehicles are the number one leading cause of teen deaths. About 2,800 teens were killed, and 227,000 were injured in the U.S. alone in 2020. 

Missouri has a complicated process for teens to earn their driver’s license. It all starts with the permit, which teens can get on their 15th birthday after passing a written test. After that, teens are expected to be learning to drive with the parents, and must complete 40 hours of driving instruction before they can get their actual license when they turn 16.

16-year-olds in Missouri do have restrictions, though, once they get their license. For the first 6 months they cannot drive more than 1 passenger who is not an immediate family member and cannot drive between the hours of 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. After 6 months teens can drive up to 3 passengers who are not family members. Teens do not get a full driver’s license till they turn 18.

Freshman Aaliyah Krzyanowski got her driver’s permit in February. She shared a memorable driving experience.  

¨I was looking at the GPS and accidentally drove fully into someone’s lawn,” Krzyanowski said. 

Learning to drive can involve a lot of mistakes, but those mistakes can lead to valuable teaching moments.

¨I think that learning how to drive has taught me to be more patient with people,¨ freshman Carys Woerner said. Woerner got her driver’s permit in August. She has been driving for 9 months.

While most freshmen are just going through the permit process and learning how to drive, many sophomores have already turned 16 and have their license. One such student is sophomore Adriana Kase.

¨I’m scared for next year because I will be driving in the school parking lot, and I don’t want to get in a crash with any of my classmates.¨ Kase said. 

The parking lot can be a problem at South High at the end of the school day, because many students run to their cars and speed out of the parking lot. Some fear leaving the school because of their classmates, but other students think it’s a breeze. 

¨Once that final bell rings, and I get to make car, the parking lot is a mess. I constantly get cut off or have a stand off with someone else, and what makes it worse is I’ll know them,¨ senior Allison Miele said.  

Spanish teacher Rachel Dunaway talks about her fears of her 3 kids being on the road. Dunaway has 2 boys and one girl; all 3 have been driving for years. 

¨I think I’m most scared about somebody hitting them and it not being their fault,¨ she said. 

As teens take the wheel, parents like Dunaway may hold their breath, but both are learning to navigate the challenges of the driving world one mile at a time.

“I think all my kids are good drivers, yes, they’ve made a lot of mistakes, but that’s how you learn,” Dunaway said.