Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 24 : Spring 2015 | Page 78

Healthy You:

Behind the Wheel
by Kim Jones

I like to drive. The freedom that comes with jumping
behind the wheel and going wherever I want is appealing to
me. I share in the great American dream of wanting to drive
from coast to coast someday soaking in all this country has
to offer – preferably in a convertible with an unobstructed
view and my hair blowing freely in the breeze.
I also happen to think driving is great fun. Some of my
favorite childhood memories include sitting on my dad’s lap
steering the car while he worked the pedals (long before the
days of child car seat laws); zipping around the backyard on
dirt bikes; and tooling Main Street in my first set of wheels,
a baby blue Chevette. As exciting as hitting the open road
can be, however, it’s also fraught with danger…the serious
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kind, with potentially deadly consequences.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, two out of three motorists will be involved
in an accident that results in injury of either themselves or
the other person/people in the crash. Two out of three?
Yikes! But before you resign yourself to only travelling by
foot, read on to learn how you and your loved ones can be
safe in a vehicle.
Teens and Young Adults
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for
teens. Drivers ages 16 to 19 have fatal car accidents at a rate
four times that of drivers ages 25 to 65. Risky behaviors,