CARZ FOR GIRLZ: Risky Passengers; It's WHO You Drive, Not How You Drive!

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By Ilyse Gordon & Friends

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to get into a car crash. And those at especially high risk are teen drivers with passengers.

This is because more passengers mean more distractions. Max out your seating capacity and you've too much talking, too much texting, too much flirting, and too much drama – that’s too many things pulling your attention away from what you should be concentrating on, which is driving.

It's easy to say you could handle the situation. You might even have once told your friends to shut it while driving. But weaknesses are right around the corner, waiting for a ride. How would you feel, right now, if your main crush – the one you admire from afar but honestly do not know that well – hopped into the backseat of your car with three of his buddies? The Gods have given you a golden opportunity to make headway with this beautiful creature, no doubt.

But obviously nothing is going to get anywhere unless you start the car and hit the road. Your emotions, and therefore your concentration, just changed dramatically. And drama is back in the car, texting, talking, and flirting. So how can you manage vehicle passengers and not look like a dork doing it?

Work on practicing not good, but safe judgment. A good driver and a safe driver are not necessarily the same thing – for example, a good driver thinks they can handle a car at high speeds while a safe driver just doesn't go there. If you can lay down the law now your friends, you'll be more comfortable getting vocal later if strangers start showing up for rides. Plus, your friends become programmed to enforce the car rules to others.

Stop taking pressure so personally. So what if a cool guy complains your driving is too slow? Don't take these moments personally, meaning resist the need to feel offended and react right away. Pause, and if you feel obligated after you've thought something through, go ahead and respond. The best thing you can do – for yourself and your driving – is not act like your typical girl by internalizing every little statement someone makes. People say dumb things and leave it at that.

You're the queen of your car – so don't appoint a king. That means your car is a country and you're in charge of ruling it. Did you know males are more than one and a half times likely to die in a car crash? So what's worse – ignoring the driving advice of an oh-so-cute but bossy boy; or being a complete pushover and letting him dictate? You might have more to regret later than just your self-worth if you let someone else steer you the wrong way.

Action speaks louder than words. You very well might get six different passengers telling you to go in six different directions in a packed car. If you don't have a trusted friend (who is also your trusted navigator), decide for yourself how you're going to proceed. Tune out the noise – that means all protesting opinions, groaning emotions, sudden shouting, and cell and text signals. Do your job: Drive safe and alert.

Kick annoying passengers to the curb. If you cannot concentrate on your driving due to very irritating passenger activity, pull over and wait it out. Again, action speaks louder than words, and your decision to park does all the talking for you to straighten passengers out. If all else fails, tell distracting people to get out. Let them get in someone else's car and jeopardize some other sap's freedom.

Driving behaviors say unspoken qualities to those who you don't know. Parents and teachers call it being responsible, but there are more appealing adjectives the curious will wonder about you: She's so levelheaded, confident, independent, different, smarter – qualities that peak any guy's interest. Sooner or later, boys get sick of girls who have seem to change everything about themselves for a little attention and start looking for the ones who haven shown the strength to care about something other than themselves.

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Carz4Girlz - Because Girls Are Car Crazy Too!

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