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agency Ages 16–18 16

Drive a car

Two tons at speed — competence here is a responsibility, not just a freedom.

What to learn

Drive safely and confidently — vehicle control, rules, hazard awareness, and the judgment to match.

The problem it solves

Driving is treated as pure freedom, underweighting that it’s one of the most dangerous things most people do.

How to teach it

Teach a child

Build hours in rising difficulty — empty lots, quiet streets, then traffic and weather. Model calm, defensive habits and narrate hazards out loud. Treat mistakes as coaching, and don’t rush the license before the judgment.

Teach yourself

Get real practice across conditions, drive defensively, and never let the routine of it erase the respect it deserves. Competence is control plus judgment plus the humility to remember what you’re operating.

Done when

Drives safely and confidently across conditions, with sound hazard judgment.

In the framework

Agency carries responsibility: the more capable you are, the more your actions can affect others. Driving is where “you are responsible for what you do” gets literal and heavy.

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