Here’s some advice for new teen drivers — and everybody else

In a couple of weeks, I will do something for the fourth time.

I will stand outside the Department of Motor Vehicles and snap a picture of one of my children holding up a brand-new driver’s license.

Then I will go to Facebook and post the picture of my new 16-year-old, along with this caption: “Just what the world needs: another teenage driver.”

Many people will reply, some with a thumbs up but most with expressions of feigned horror and maybe even a meme or two involving Edvard Munch’s classic painting “The Scream.”

This is a good time, I think, to remind folks that my 16-year-old driver will not have the same license that they have.

In the state of Georgia, 16- and 17-year-old drivers have a Class D driver’s license, which is a step below the Class C license that most adults hold.

For the first six months of having this license, the young driver cannot legally give a lift to anyone who is not a member of his or her immediate family.

For the second six months, the young driver cannot legally transport more than one passenger under the age of 21 who is not a family member.

I’m thankful for that family member clause, but also thankful that new drivers are forbidden to carry non-family passengers. Looking back on my own experience as a 16-year-old driver, most of the stupid decisions I made behind the wheel were done in the presence of fellow 16-year-olds.

Anyway, I was driving my youngest son to school the other day when I realized he was about to turn 16. (It’s rare these days for me to take him to school, but his 18-year-old brother was out of town.)

We’d taken I-185 down to Macon Road and then cut into neighborhoods, heading toward Columbus High School. We were behind a long line of cars. The young lady in front of us decided to drive about 50 feet in the opposite lane of traffic so she could make a left turn down a side street.

This was stupid, of course, but fortunately no car appeared in the oncoming lane.

That’s when I decided to dispense several pieces of driving-related advise to my son. Here we go:

It’s not the end of the world if you’re late.

So you might be running late, which means you might miss the homeroom bell and get after-school detention or whatever they call it these days if you don’t drive like a bat out of hell or drive down a one-way street or something stupid like that.

That’s OK. The consequences of being late are much less than the consequences of recklessly navigating a 2-ton motor vehicle.

It’s not the end of the world if you hit something.

Let’s say you hit a parked car or a mailbox or something. Stop and own up to it. It’s the right thing to do, and also the smart thing to do. Kids with a hit-and-run on their record aren’t eligible for a Class C license when they turn 18, and the consequences can be much more severe than that.

Never, ever drink and drive.

You do stupid stuff when you try to hide other stuff you did. I don’t tell my children not to drink under any circumstances, because if they break that rule, they’re not going to call me and ask for a ride. I do tell them not to drink and drive under any circumstances.

Never, ever text and drive – or send an email and drive, or Snapchat and drive, or…

Every single day, I see drivers of all ages weaving out of their lane as they send a text. Nobody should do this, ever.

Come to think of it, these tips are good for any drivers, including myself.

And remember, be careful out there.

This story was originally published May 4, 2018 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Here’s some advice for new teen drivers — and everybody else."