The Cost of Freedom

Similar to most teens who receive their license, I felt a newfound sense of freedom. I was finally able to make plans and go where I wanted to go without having to worry about asking my parents to bring me there. Teenagers constantly want to feel more independant and more “adult” but most of the time, they do not take into consideration the actual responsibility that comes with their new privileges. Teens often ignore many of the lessons taught in Driver’s Education courses or some teens do not even take these important classes. These vital lessons carry on into adulthood and determine what kind of driver a person will be. Unfortunately, the absence of knowledge of certain laws and safety procedures end up costing drivers in the end; most often, it costs lives.

When I was 7 years old, I got my first taste as to what irresponsible driving can cause. My beautiful aunt, Roxanne, was going for a “night ride” on her bicycle with a friend when a driver failed to see her, and struck her with his vehicle. My aunt was very adamant about bicycle safety; she always wore her helmet and had many lights on her bike as well. She never rode her bike on the roads alone, was very conscious of drivers around her, and was alway on high alert while cycling. It was the ignorance of the driver that ended up taking her life at only 50 years old. It was because of this ignorance that my grandparents lost a daughter, my dad lost a sibling, my cousins lost their mother, I lost an aunt, and many people lost a good friend. My aunt had so much of her life left to live. She has missed many important milestones such as; becoming a grandmother, watching her son get married, retiring, and making many heartfelt memories with the people she loved. While the driver responsible for this tragedy apologized, it still did not change the fact that my aunt was gone. While the apology was nice, the words “I’m sorry” did not bring my aunt back, and they never will.

I believe that information about things such as bike safety can stop incidents such as these from happening. Driver’s need to be more aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the road, as well as their own driving. I believe that it should be mandatory that all drivers at some point in their lives take additional driving courses to further enforce and explain the importance of safe driving. Personally, this experience has engraved in my mind the imperativeness of being fully alert and awake while driving as well as the vitality of always following traffic laws. Even if a driver looks away from the road for a mere second, the risk of lives being lost is still very high. When a driver gets behind the wheel, they not only put themselves at risk, but they put hundreds of other bystanders at risk as well.

Since the accident, my family has gone through great lengths to advocate for safe driving. Every year since the accident we hold an event known as the “Ride for Rox”. We gather many cyclists and set a trail throughout the city of Lafayette for them to cycle in honor of my aunt. We always ensure that the cyclists take proper precaution and that the trail is noticeable to drivers. We have also built a cyclist rest station around where the accident happened, so that other cyclists can rest when they feel tired. They have charging stations for phones, air pumps for tires, and water fountains as well. With this we hope that we can not only help other cyclists on the road, but promote the importance of safe driving. I also hope that I can also do more to advocate for this cause. Although it is difficult for me sometimes, I still tell my story about how unsafe driving has affected me in hopes that it will open the eyes of other drivers.

In my town of Lafayette, we have recently experienced many losses due to unsafe driving. There have been 5 deaths just this year because of drivers being ignorant on the road. All 5 of those deaths were teenagers who went to local highschools who had big futures ahead of them. Jace Judice, Ramsie Baumgardner, Lindy Simmons, Christopher Simmons, and Kamryn Simmons all lost their lives because of unsafe driving. While I did not know them personally, many of my friends knew these 5 beautiful souls whose lives were abruptly taken from them. They left behind many friends and loved ones whose lives have also changed because of the irresponsibility and idiocy of drivers who were careless. I hope that one day in the near future, more action can be taken to stop things like this from happening. I plan to continue to advocate for this cause and drive safely in hopes that a difference can finally be made. With that being said, I hope that driver’s will finally learn and understand the true cost of freedom.