Safer Drivers Project Citizen

Story by: Natalie Tanner and Brielle Hammond

Driving is an essential part of the average teenager’s life. According to the amount of parking permits at the high school, 623 students are driving consistently to Madison High. Teens are the one of the groups most likely to get in an accident, and hold the highest number of accidents resulting in death. Almost 250,000 teens have gone to the emergency room because of car accidents in 2013 alone. That’s the population of both Rexburg and Boise combined.This nationwide statistic hits pretty close to Madison High.

“You see a wreck everyday [driving to school] because of distracted driving,” said Senior Nathan Harker.

Choosing this topic for Project Citizen was a no brainer for Seniors Maryn Tueller, Nathan Harker, Zack Telford, Braden Price, and Landen Kauer because it’s an issue that high school students deal with everyday.

“Considering all the tailgating and wrecks I’ve almost been in, [distracted driving] is a big deal,” said Tueller.

The group proposed that teens would have to take a skills test every time they had to renew their license during their adolescent years, which is ages 18 and 21. Once drivers reach the age of 65, they would have to take a skills test to renew their license, and every 10 years after.

The idea is to make drivers take more responsibility for their driving. It would also decrease the amount of tension within families when it comes to taking away keys to both teens and elderly people.

Their plan proved to be solid after the rounds of questioning from the teachers who were serving as judges. The group contacted some higher ups in Idaho legislation, so there could be some changes to students’ driving habits.