The Importance of Safe Driving

Checking through my snap chat memories when I stumbled upon a snap from Keira, one of my friends. Wondering what it was I clicked on it and opened the snap only to find a crushed up car. I called her to make sure she was okay and she was sobbing. Eager to know what happened I called Nikki, who was there with her. She had told me that when leaving her neighborhood there was a crushed up car and a dented truck. The blue car was a toyota camry with the hood completely smashed in on itself but still easily recognizable as Keira’s car. Keira was standing in her friend Preston’s arms of Preston, whose truck was hit. I was so concerned for her and thanking the Lord that she was unscathed. She informed me that if Preston did not swerve a little out of the way then she would have been hit instead of her hitting him. If he had been on his phone he would’ve never seen her and rammed straight into her driver’s side door. If he had hit her she would have either been dead or severely injured. This was such an eye opener for me because it happened in under 30 seconds. Being in a rush and not looking properly caused a near death experience.

In 2020 alone over 40,000 people died from a car crash, which is greater than the number of deaths from the War of 1812. To some people speed limits are a joke but they are in place for the safety of all those on the road. One person might be reckless and end up killing a whole family just because they wanted to go 15 mph over the speed limit. New drivers, especially the young ones, are the most reckless and are usually the ones involved in car accidents. They believe speeding is a cool way to show off to their friends and aren’t quite mature enough to realize the consequences of their actions. There are preventative measures including a permit for 16 year olds forcing them to drive with their guardians for 6 months before they go off on their own. This teaches them responsibility for the lives of others in the car. Then legally teenagers are only allowed 1 non-family member in their car for 6 months until they take a 4 hour course teaching them the consequences of driving mistakes.

There are laws in place for the safety of all, however not many people strictly adhere to them. Driving under the influence with a BAC >0.08% classifies that as a dui and goes on your record. Drunk driving is a huge cause of deaths due to obscured vision, ungathered thoughts, and involuntary muscle spasms. This is not only dangerous for the driver but for any passengers and any other who are on the road. This reminds me of a situation that took place last year where there was a girl driving her friends home from a party that was out by a river. She happened to be driving while crossing, having drunk and smoked, as well as having 2 passengers in her car. She was driving them home when she spun out of control crashing through a group of trees before she landed in the Kentucky river. Thankfully the 2 passengers survived except they had critical injuries and had to be rushed to the hospital. The driver, Maci, was found a week after she crashed and was officially pronounced dead. This devastated many peers around me as she was simply just a senior in high school.

I always imagine what her parents must have felt about everything that happened. Their only daughter killed herself in an accident and not only that but she was pronounced missing for a week. How would I feel if that was a situation for my parents and I never want them to have to deal with those emotions. I take safety precautions everytime I step foot into my car. Knowing how much I matter to others makes me value my life. The phone will always be placed upside down in the cupholder, no matter who calls me they can wait until I am parked. No texting while driving and I only change the music from my steering wheel never from my phone screen. If I am currently in a conversation with someone I let them know ahead of time about me driving and therefore not answering. My phone is set to not disturb once I step foot in my car and it will stay on until I step out. Looking down for 30 seconds can change the whole trajectory of your life. It is so important to keep your eyes on the road watching everyone at all times.

Two things I swore to myself would be to never drink and drive and then to never let others put me in danger. I love to be in control of the vehicle I am in therefore I become a slight backseat driver in other cars. The driver is never allowed on their phone as I will switch the music for them and give them directions if needed. The lives of themselves and their passengers means more than a simple text message. Always preach to never let anyone out of their sight if they are drinking so keys need to be taken away from them, no matter their age they can be immature. No individual will ever be on their phone while driving me, not even at a red light because it is unsafe. Police officers pull over those speeding, reckless drivers, and those distracted on their phone. This keeps people scared of going over the speed limit in fear of getting a fine to pay.