Driving For Dad

When I step out the door to get into my lifted 2007 Chevy Silverado, my dad always reminds me to be safe and mindful of other drivers. He continues with telling me he loves me and to always check my mirrors before turning into a lane. I understand that my truck can hurt a lot of people if I hit them going too fast or if I make a simple mistake such as assuming I am clear because I had the right away. But I don’t only drive safely so I can come back home to my dad, but so other teens can go home to their dad; so someone doesn’t lose their own dad.

First learning to drive the lifted truck I named Maurice was absolutely terrifying. The tires stick out and the truck has a 9 inch lift, so I was very high up. Going from a 2016 Tahoe to this was a big change and came with a lot of immediate responsibility. Test driving the truck meant that I had to learn how to center myself the second I got into the monster truck. I was driving slow, probably going 5 miles under the speed limit; trying to make sure I wasn’t going to hit anyone. As everyone flew by me, I started getting more comfortable and started going the speed limit. My dad kept helping me with the little adjustment I needed to make but after a good 30 minutes of driving I became noticeably comfortable driving the roaring monster truck.

After this car ride, my dad gave me a small lecture about how easy it would be for me to hurt someone badly; or even how I could be hurt badly because these kinds of trucks are easy to flip over if I ever turn too hard or if the roads are messed up. This insured me to become as safe as a driver could be because I don’t want to be the reason anyone can’t go home to their own dad. Being terrified of my dad ever getting that knock on the door from a police officer, I always made sure to cruise everywhere I went and never allow anyone to rush me when I drive. As long as I could keep my cool while driving I would always make it home, but if you permit someone to rush you then you become dangerous because you are no longer in control of your own car or mind. Therefore when I drive, I drive to stay alive for my dad and so other people can also make it back to their dads; it would be devastating to die because someone couldn’t figure out how to drive safely with young adults on this road.

Another thing I do to stay a safe driver is give myself more than enough time to make it to my destination. My school starts at 8:45 and on days where I do not have a senior out period, I arrive at 8:30 because I leave my house by 8:15. Leaving early allows me to not rush and cruise my way to school because I leave with more than enough time, which permits me to not speed and keep my chill on the way to school. Although my dad isn’t the best at leaving on time, he always made sure we made it there safely, while still being on time. I leave early because it allows me to be a safe driver, even if it can irritate other drivers. Because of this, I have come home in one piece everyday to my dad and I know this makes him feel better about me being on the road without him.

I am also very courteous and always let people go in front of me while driving. This means I almost never get cut off and people never speed dangerously in front of me. I believe in karma, especially when it comes to driving. I think those who cut people off get into accidents more often because they obviously do idiotic things while they’re behind the wheel. Therefore, if I allow these people to cut in front of me without them escalating their speed drastically, both them and I get to go home to our families safely. My dad was always great at this, he always let people he knew were bad drivers stay either way behind him or way out in front of him, because he knew they didn’t care for the safety of anyone, including themself.

In conclusion, I drive to make it home to my dad because he has been my best example ever since I could sit in the passenger seat. He has always taught me that I could dangerously hurt someone, especially in the lifted truck I have, and I never wanted to be the reason someone didn’t go home to their dad. I am inspired to be a driver like my dad until I’m told I am too old to drive. I understand that we are all responsible to be a safe driver, but with my dad always being a great driver, I feel like I was born with these skills to be as safe as I can be without him driving for me. To end this, I drive for my dad because I know that we need each other and would be heartbroken without each other and I drive safely so other people can go home to their dads because I would never want to experience losing him, nor would others.