Name: Nailah Martin
From: Portsmouth, Virginia
Votes: 0
With the
excitement of high school comes the excitement of driving. We are
extremely head over heels about drivers ed class and
getting our permits and started on our driving journey, but some of
us fail to realize the actual dangers of operating a vehicle. We all
learn about the statistics of crashes and DUIs, but sometimes the
drivers ed piece of it all doesn’t stick like it should.
The importance of drivers ed, driver’s safety, is
mandatory and essential for our livelihood. As the youth of this
generation we must embed this logic into our minds. The knowledge
given us in these drivers ed classes is essential to our safety and
the safety of whomever may be riding in the car with us. It is life
or death.
Social media
platforms are extremely popular in this generation. Instagram,
Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter are more popular then ever,
especially with the high school age group of millennials and Gen Z
kids. It is very savvy of us to post wherever we are and what we are
doing that moment so everyone on our accounts can see what life is
like. Texting and recording and scrolling through our social medias
on our phones while driving has been the biggest risk factor when it
comes down to driving. Many vehicular deaths are caused by the
texting and driving and the lack of attention due to social media.
The Apple and Samsung products both have the setting in their phones
that offer the “Do not disturb while driving” option which is a
helpful step to take in order to be a conscientious driver.
I personally
have just started learning to drive; therefore, I have not been in
any accident, but I have seen a couple accidents and witnessed one
from a family member. My aunt has been in a car accident not due to
texting and driving but to plain ignorance. Two guys were racing each
other, and one tailed my aunt’s car which caused her to spin out. I
have also witnessed terrible driving technique just by being in the
car with people I know. They will text and drive and do all kinds of
potentially dangerous things: checking their social media accounts,
texting people back, etc. All while driving.
Outside of
paying attention in our drivers ed classes, we can provide extra
lectures to give teens an extra push to stray away from texting and
driving, and just using your phone in general when you’re driving.
We could have our schools plan out an assembly with a victim of using
your phone while driving, someone who’s been in an accident while
the other driver was using their phone. Most times, we do not heed
the signs, the lectures, the classes, the example crashes until we’ve
gotten into an accident ourselves or we’ve lost someone to an
accident. I believe that if our schools just made it a priority to
educate the students in high school about the dangers and the facts
of driving, the number of phone related crashes would be lowered.
Outside of our schools, the parents should educate the children even
more. Sit down and converse with us about the dangers and what
dangers they faced when they were our age.
If we do not educate ourselves or find ways to educate each other,
then many lives will be at stake. We would be living our fantasy of
finally driving, but in the end, if we check our phones, our fantasy
has the possibility of ending at a dead end. A tombstone.
