Eternally A Passenger Princess
There are a few things needed for survival: water, food, shelter… and a driver’s license with a nice, shiny car to go along with it.
Walkable cities are slowly becoming extinct in modern-day America, and the ones that are still viable, such as New York City or D.C., are so expensive to live in that you would need to sell a kidney to pay a month’s rent. So, in most cities and towns, you need a car to go to work or even your local grocery stores. Easy solution, right? All you need to do is get your driver’s license. And get a car, but that’s another expensive problem.
But it isn’t so simple. Around 66% of Americans deal with a level of driving anxiety, with every three in five experiencing a traumatic driving accident. One in four teens, the average age to start learning how to drive, are too scared to drive at all. In a time where driving is an essential skill due to the slowly disappearing walkable cities, these statistics are alarming at best and downright dangerous at worst. But why are so many people terrified about getting behind the wheel?
General anxiety is one answer. Driving is a difficult task, and if you are suffering from anxiety already, it can be an overwhelming effort. Trauma from a previous driving experience is another reason. Three in five people experience a traumatic driving accident, with 25-33% developing PTSD after. And if those weren’t enough, simply watching the news and seeing so many reports of terrifying car accidents can induce fear in anyone.
The general anxiety was what stopped me from getting my license until I was twenty-one. Added by seeing all sorts of car wrecks on the evening news, I was made to be a passenger princess for life. Of course, that made life tens of times harder looking for rides to get to school so I don’t miss a class or to work so I’m not late for a shift. Because everything was too far to walk and the public transportation in South Florida was nothing to be proud of, I was always looking for a ride. And for a good amount of it, I couldn’t find one, which meant I was stuck and unable to go where I needed to go — which ended up being a whole lot of pressure to get a license.
That’s what ends up happening to a lot of people– even if they hate it and get extremely anxious while driving, can’t afford to drive, or simply shouldn’t be controlling a three-ton hunk of metal on the road. Not being able to afford to drive is a major negative; car insurance, car payments, and gas money are major expenses that can cost as much as your rent. I should know that, I’m still on my long-suffering journey in trying to find an affordable car.
It’s no wonder so many people prefer the passenger seat. Not only is it safer, but it costs way less too. But as responsibilities piled up– responsibilities that take place miles away from our home– the need for reliant transportation runs deep. And until cities suddenly become walkable again or Florida fixes its public transportation problems, we persevere and yearn for the days we can take back our passenger princess crowns.
Strike Out,
Rameen Naviwala
Boca Raton
Rameen Naviwala is a content writer for Strike Magazine Boca. A water sign that enjoys rom-coms and reading melodramatic novels, she spends most of her time with headphones on and scribbling down whatever thought comes to mind. You can reach her at rameen.naviwala@outlook.com.
