10 Seconds

Driving safely is one of the most important things I have recently learned about this year. From personal experiences I have come to the realization that driving is a privilege, not a necessity. In drivers ed we learned about distracted driving. How it is not just being on your phone but a number of things like, switching cd’s out, playing your music so loud you can’t hear the emergency sirens from behind you, and having more then one teenager in the car at a time. But to everyone it was just a joke. We always saw our parents doing it and family members as well. From my stepdad, who is surprisingly adept at texting and driving, to my aunt, who can navigate the windiest roads with one knee on the wheel while putting her hair up in a ponytail. Growing up I used to bend the rules a lot because I thought it was ‘fun’ and that’s what I grew up knowing. A young teenager hears about fatal accidents and even sees them, but does not connect the dots how dangerous distracted driving can be until it happens to you. I used to drive wherever I wanted to with my learners permit, taking gravel as fast as possible, and fumbling with my phone. Seat belts were for losers, and only the cool people wanted to test their luck with the game ‘Chicken’, a game where you see how long you can last driving in the wrong lane. To us it was all fun and games because we had nothing better to do. I grew up a little since then and started to see the life I was headed to and I got scared. Not realizing that looking at your phone for 10 seconds is just as dangerous. Young and naive just five months ago in November I was distracted driving. Partying with close friends like we had done many times before. Driving a vehicle under the influence like we had done many times before. In the past it was ‘okay’ to do because we always got home safe, no one was ever hurt. I should not have been behind the wheel, no excuse, but I was. In downtown Iowa City, just blocks away from the University of Iowa there we were, sitting at a red light. The noise and lights seemed euphoric on the way home. The music was as loud as possible, and the distractions were barbaric. I am focused on the red light when I feel a buzz in my lap. I look down to see a text from a cute boy I had just met at the bars. The noise around me grows louder and the laughter from my backseat starts up again. I am responding when out of the corner of my eye I see the car next to me move, so I let off the brakes and press the gas a little harder than necessary, still looking at my phone. The impact I felt was in slow motion and I knew I messed up. I look up to see four bright red lights; two tail lights, a brake light, and the red light I was so focused on just 10 seconds ago. Later that night I was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, because of the accident I caused. After paying my debts and taking classes to learn about the effects of distracted driving I realize that this was a minor mistake that could have ended horrifically. If the car in front of me would have been a pedestrian or a moving vehicle the accident could have been fatal. I used to think that driving was a necessity, but I know now from the lessons I have learned that this is completely wrong. It is a privilege and anyone who provokes this privilege should be punished. That night I made myself two promises: ii. that I would never drink and drive/text and drive ever again, iii. I will share my story with as many people as possible and try to make them understand that it is not worth it. Getting home on time is not worth it. Seeing a cute boy is not worth it. But the thirty dollar uber drive, or the one-hundred dollar hotel fee is. Everyone who knows me now knows that just one phone call to get a ride home can save a life, and I will drive anywhere to pick anyone up. I want everyone who will listen to learn from my mistakes, because no one should need to learn the hard way. But that night, I did.