Piece Comment

Review of Young Drivers


As "Drive Slow" plays in the background, Emmanuel "Manny" Watson leaves no stone unturned in investigating young drivers in Durham, North Carolina.

Manny wants to know why young drivers are getting into more accidents and why they are treated differently on the road.

Manny begins by talking to his driver's ed. instructor, then to a police officer, students who took the driver's ed. class, the parents of young drivers, and teachers at his school. He even rides to school with two young drivers. One mentions how a friend ran a stop sign and killed someone, the other says he didn't even have a license when he started driving.

The piece ends up becoming personal, as Manny talks to his own mother. "Young Drivers" should end when Manny speaks from his heart to the audience and asks them to be responsible drivers, but it seems he needs to give a few shoutouts. While no doubt appropriate for the original audience, it would be a more powerful piece if these afterthoughts were cut.

Manny's spontaneous, easygoing, and confident narrative style is easy to listen to, and this evergreen piece provides a look at young drivers that is relevant across the country.