Making Driving for Teens Safer

Like any normal American kid, I got my Driver’s License when I was 16.  Within one month of earning my license, I already had my first accident. 

What did I do?  It was stupid, I’ll admit.  

First, I had three friends in the car.  That is a lot of distraction for any driver, let alone a brand-new one. 

Secondly, I blatantly disregarded the traffic pattern.  I was stopped at a light in a left-hand turn lane when my friends pointed out that I actually need to make a right turn.  I listened to my friends, ignored the traffic pattern, and decided I could make the right turn across 3 lanes of traffic

The third mistake I made was more based on my lack of experience as a driver.  I saw the car I turned into and thought that I could make it.  I would be willing to bet that if you put me in that driver’s seat today, with 15 years more driving experience, that I would have judged the vehicle’s speed far better and knew that making the right turn over the left was a poor decision.  

Looking back, I feel confident that my situation was not unique amongst new drivers.  I was unfortunate enough to cause an accident where, thankfully, no one was hurt but damaged my driving confidence nonetheless.  My situation was likely one quite similar to what new drivers experience every day around the United States as they navigate the roads. 

It’s hard to ignore that teen drivers are in a lot of accidents. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), six teens aged 16-19 were killed every day in 2017 (the most recent year for data).  They also accounted for a disproportionate number of accidents and $13.1 billion in costs for motor vehicle injuries. 

These are numbers that we cannot look over and wonder if there are not policies that could be implemented to change these negative outcomes. What could we do differently to limit accidents involving teens?

Increase requirements for education outside of the classroom

According to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, the state where I received my license, an applicant for a driver’s license must have 30 hours of in-classroom instruction and six hours behind the wheel. In my opinion, this ratio is very misaligned. 

If you look at Norway, a country where driving is much safer than in the US, a new driver has to go through almost 20 hours of supervised driving in various conditions before they are allowed to have a license.  This is in addition to the classroom training. They are supervised while driving at night, long-distance, and in hazardous conditions (a must with a country known for snow!) 

The fact is that if you want to get better at driving, you have to drive more.  And you have to drive more where you are learning the right way to drive. If we can increase the time spent learning more of the right driving techniques, we can likely limit the potential negative consequences for new drivers. 

Driver’s education can be changed to challenge new drivers in situations they are likely to face, all under the direct supervision of a professional driving instructor.  By adding requirements like night driving, hazardous driving conditions, and long-distance driving, new drivers are far more likely to be prepared to be successful drivers. 

It’s also important that the modality of classroom instruction changes to teach more “practical exercises”.  Driving students should be learning around cars as much as possible.  This not only provides a more hands-on learning environment for students who learn better in that way, but it provides more of a sense of realness and ownership to students in the process of learning to drive.  By creating policies to increase this type of classroom instruction, students create a more personal tie to the driving process and increase their level of comfort with driving.

Place limits on occupants

Looking back on my own situation, I was absolutely distracted by having my friends in the car.  It’s a lot to handle as a new driver trying to navigate the roads for the first time. 

By placing limits on the number of occupants in a vehicle driven by new drivers, the distraction presented to a new driver can be greatly limited.  This could also have ancillary benefits like reducing the possibility of underage drinking inside the vehicle.  

A good standard could be no more than two passengers beyond the driver in a vehicle being operated by someone within 18 months of receiving their license.  And, if during that time the new driver was involved in an incident where driver distraction was at play, then that 18 months could restart. 

The fact is that new drivers want to have their friends in the car.  They want to drive them around and show them their newfound freedom of driving.  But for a new driver, these additional passengers create new layers of distraction that they are likely not yet fit to handle. 

Focus on limiting other distractions

As laid out by Steinberg Goodman & Kalish, there are a number of distractions that can cause problems for drivers.  Everything from cell phones, to navigation systems, to personal grooming can distract drivers and be a cause of a serious accident.  

To start addressing these distractions, policies can be implemented to ensure that limiting driver distraction is part of vehicle design.  The focus of new vehicle technology should not just be in improving the driving experience, but also making it safer. 

For example, the incorporation of augmented reality and heads-up displays, done in a non-sensory overload fashion, could provide enough information for drivers to keep their eyes on the road and not look at their dashboard.  Information like signals for approaching vehicles, upcoming hazards, and changes in traffic patterns can all be included via sensory information and cellular networks.  Particularly considering that new drivers are more adept at incorporating technology into their lives, this could be a useful way to improve driver safety for everyone. 

Conclusion

When I take a look back at my first accident, I see that it could have been avoided.  If I had fewer people in the car, then my level of distraction would have been less.  If I had more confidence in driving, I would have felt better knowing that I could follow the laws and still end up where I needed to be, only a couple of minutes later.  And lastly, with more supervisory experience and additional information provided via technology, I could have known that I was going to hit the car coming at me if I tried to make that turn.  The good news is that we can still improve. 

 

How Hero Culture is Hurting Veterans

I am immensely grateful that my generation of veterans did not have to experience what the Vietnam generation did. My returns to the United States after deployments overseas were marked by balloons, cheers, and lots of “thank-yous,” not spit and being called a baby-killer. Since Vietnam, our country has learned to separate the war from the war-fighter, and we are better for it.

My generation instead began to contend with a gaping chasm between those that served (and their families) and those that did not.

Just over 1% of the nation served in the conflicts of the post-9/11 generation. Only 33% of those under 30 have a familial connection to someone who served. Not only is there a smaller sliver of the pie who served, but these people tend to come from an even smaller group of family networks.

Thankfully, the pendulum took a swing away from the negative stigma of the Vietnam era, but responded with a hollow misunderstanding of service. Instead we got a lot of yellow ribbons and “thank you for your service” comments, but little understanding of what military service actually entailed.

The danger comes when the conversation cannot move beyond “Everyone who serves is a hero.”

Speaking from firsthand experience as a transitioning service member, the common message is that every employer wants to hire you and every school wants to let you in. I will say that I have been amazed at the willingness of people to help me through this process and the amount of resources created to help veterans transition. Initiatives like Google’s veteran job-search functioned advertised at the Super Bowl, and the gracious matching by universities of the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill through the Yellow Ribbon Program, are exemplars of the opportunities opened up for my generation. But if we keep telling veterans that they are all heroes, there will continue to be an expectation that the day you leave the base for the last time, there will be a ticker-tape parade and a limousine to escort you to your new career. This is not reality.

Hero worship can also make it difficult for veterans to seek the help they may desperately need. After being told by everyone that you are a hero, it can be hard to admit that you feel guilt over the the things you saw or did in war and harder to admit that you need help to address these issues. The expectations of your status as a hero are written, and that can be hard to undo.

It is not unheard of to see signs around the 4th of July, notifying neighbors not to shoot fireworks because of the veteran who lives in the house. While civilians may see a hero, I see a veteran who likely needs help but is not seeking it. Instead they hide behind a sign and their “hero” status.

Beyond the needs of individual veterans are the needs of the Nation. Veterans comprise a small percentage of the population, and there are fewer and fewer people who know someone firsthand who serves. The halls of Congress have also fewer Veterans than they once did, with veterans currently make up 18% of the members in Congress, down from around 75% after Vietnam. This is a troubling situation, where the leaders of our Nation, most of who do not have military experience, are then receiving the testimony of senior military leaders who are advising them on one use of force or another. What worries me is that the guilt of the collective consciousness, struggling with what our nation asked the Post-9/11 generation of veterans to do, and the making into heroes of all those who serve, being unable to disagree with the generals and admirals. One cannot look at this situation and the seemingly unending wars in the Middle East and think that they are not connected.

There are two parts to addressing this. Civilians- talk to a vet. As in with anyone, to understand their experience you have to get to to know them. Move beyond a handshake and “Thank you for your service,” to peel back to the hero label and understand the humanity of someone’s service. Veterans- know that our country is going to great lengths to bring you into the fold, but know that you are not owed anything.

There is a great story of GEN (Ret.) Colin Powell. The day after he retired his sink stopped working. He grabbed the phone to call base housing to come and fix it and then remembered that he retired and no one was going to come. So he grabbed a wrench and fixed the sink. Sometimes that’s all a hero is: someone grabbing a wrench and fixing their own sink.

4 Veteran-Specific Business Programs from Top Colleges

Top business schools see the value of having veterans in their program. Many are also recognizing that veterans have unique needs, especially in the transition process out of the military. While we as vets usually have a great set of skills and experiences when it comes to leadership, teamwork, and planning, we typically lack the hard skills like accounting finance or marketing. And so how and what we need to learn can be different.

We usually lack a good network of resources as well. Most of the people we know are either still in the military or also spent a significant chunk of time there and are just getting started building their own network. Our access to mentors who can help us with business-related problems or career questions is constrained compared to those of our peers who went straight into the civilian world.

These schools recognize the unique challenges of educating veterans, but see that if done correctly, there can be enormous benefits by bringing our experiences and skills into the business world.

Stanford Ignite

Stanford is the gold standard for entrepreneurship and innovation. Nestled in the hub of silicon valley, the Graduate School of Business is filled with professors who are both knowledgable and have the entrepreneurial credentials to back up what they are teaching. They have been there, done that, and are looking to help a new cohort of entrepreneurs succeed.

The Ignite program has two formats: one for veterans and one for everyone else. My take is that this wasn’t meant to be “charity” move. From what I’ve gathered, they saw that veterans who came into the program might feel intimidated or have impostor syndrome. Many of the students in the non-veteran class already had entrepreneurial business experience, and veterans could feel intimidated by that. The veteran-only class allowed veterans to be with people of a similar background and set of professional experiences — to which graduates from the program seems to thrive.

The program is designed to both expose you to an entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem, as well as give you the tools to refine your own ideas and grow them. Given the GSB’s access and influence, you will get to visit top local companies, speak with top thinkers, and network with seasoned investors.

 

You will work in small teams of 5–6 to develop a new product, or refine one from a fellow team member. With this, you can arrive at Ignite with nothing more than an idea or have something already in the works that you are trying to refine. Or you can show up just wanting to learn.

The faculty will guide you through developing the idea and using hard business skills to make it a viable venture. The culminating event is to present a pitch to a group of investors and mentors who are ready to help you grow and learn.

After graduation, you will receive a Professional Certificate from the GSB.

While the cost of the traditional program is $14,950 the school has a generous scholarship offer for veterans, bringing the Post-9/11 option down to $2,500.

Dartmouth Next Step

Dartmouth’s Tuck school of business is a fantastic program. The school’s remote location creates a deeply intense community, demonstrated by their notably high rate of alumni donations.

The Next Step program brings together two groups of people who are in a significant transition period of life: military veterans and ex-elite athletes. Both are ending a period of their lives where they were intensely dedicated and focused on something. Veterans, along with elite athletes did not just participate in the military or our sport: it was our all-encompassing identity. And while we are both known for discipline, teamwork, and focus, we lack the hard skills necessary in business.

From what I’ve gathered in looking at their site and speaking with a few alumni, the program is structured to be a mini-MBA. It provides some broad strokes on the topics that you would cover over the course of a graduate business program, with the added benefit of having a group of people who are all more or less on the same level experience-wise.

Also included is a career day, where companies come to network and speak. Having visited Tuck myself, I know that it’s not easy to visit. Unlike most business schools, Tuck is over 2 hours from the nearest city (Boston): it’s in the middle of nowhere. This can provide a serious benefit, however. If someone is willing to make the trek out to visit the school, then that means they really want to be there. There’s also really not much to do in the town, and so when people are there…they are there. At big-city schools, it’s much easier for speakers or companies to just pop in and out, but the location of Dartmouth makes this a challenge. And so you can get someone’s undivided attention a lot easier here than compared to some other schools.

Next Step can serve you in a few purposes. If you are interested in applying to Tuck, attending the program before you apply can be a good way to signal to the admissions committee that you are really interested in Tuck. The school really places value on creating a deep connection with students and alumni and places a premium on people who show a willingness to engage with their school.

If you are interested in working in Boston or the New England market, having Tuck credentials can be a great resume boost. And the access provided to potential employers can help. Tuck professors are also known for creating intimate relationships with the students, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they extended their help to Next Step members as well.

The program can also be good if you are unsure about business school and want to just get a taste before committing time and resources to the idea. Next Step can give you a good glimpse of what life would be like as an MBA student way beyond what a 1 or 2-day campus visit ever could.

The program has two costs. If you have an AGI over $70,000, it costs $5,000. If less, the costs are $2,500. You can also use your GI Bill benefits, using 1 month of benefits to attend the program.

NYU’s Fertitta Veterans Program

Although only open for those who get accepted into New York University’s Stern School of Business, the Fertitta Veterans program is an effort by a top school to work towards a successful integration of Veterans into their business program. The program is funded through a $15 million endowment from two Stern alumni who are also brothers. For those accepted, you can expect to not only participate in the program, but attend Stern at little to no cost.

The program is a 6-week course in the summer prior to classes. You will take core courses like statistics, data analysis, and accounting. Like Stanford’s and Tuck’s programs, there will also be networking and career opportunities. For anyone looking to work in NYC, Stern is a great option and the Fertitta program is a fantastic way to get started on your MBA.

USC’s Master of Business for Veterans

USC’s MBV program is different in that it actually provided an accredited graduate degree. The program is 10 months long, with classes held on Fridays and Saturdays. Designed to leverage the management and leadership experience you gained during military service, the MBV seeks to develop your formal business knowledge, as well as the ability to launch your own venture.

The program is still relatively new so there isn’t much information out there about it. If you are already living and working in the area, the MBV can be a good way to boost your business credentials. For those who already are in a career they enjoy, or are working on their own company, the MBV provides a more flexible option than a full-time MBA program.

You have options. Great ones. Lots of top MBA programs are working to bring more veterans to their schools, and are willing to offer generous benefit packages and scholarships to entice them. Having the additional options of these programs can help you transition more successfully out of the military and into the business world.

To learn more about opportunities for Veterans seeking meaningful work, visit my site at www.theveteranpro.com