Think Twice – Save A Life

Keep both hands on the wheel, buckle up, stow your phone, stay attentive, adhere to road rules, and remember to think twice because you have the capability of saving a life. These are straightforward guidelines, yet so often we forget their importance. We tend to forget the lessons we learned in our so-called tedious driving school we are all forced to take at a young age. We throw all those rules out the window as our friends accelerate, our phones buzz, urging us to check if that special someone has replied to our chat, or we attempt to juggle multiple tasks all while driving; like eating a bowl of cereal while driving because we woke up too late. These risky endeavors frequently can lead to dangerously close encounters with other vehicles, which oftentimes can lead to far worse than just a bumper tap.

I think we can all agree turning sixteen is every young person’s desire, it’s a milestone to adulthood and independence. But receiving your license in my family was much more serious than I had seen with my friends. Failed to obey the laws of the road, and if my mom were to find out she’d take away my driving privileges herself. She has stressed the importance of staying attentive and following the rules of the roads because she herself had experienced an accident.

Three weeks after my mother received her driver’s license, Michigan’s enchanting winter wonderland descended on the town. Winter time not only brings the beautiful white snow people can only dream of on Christmas day, but it also brings along the harsh, bitter cold, and icy roads that would stretch for miles. As her tires struggled to gain traction and her brakes locked up, she ran the stop sign she had failed to see earlier. Her braking was much too last minute for the icy roads of winter. Her attention was turned toward small-town gossip with her childhood friend in the passenger seat. In an instant, their little meaningless conversation was turned upside down as a truck collided with them from the side, resulting in a disaster for her little blue Ford Probe.

She always had said that the police claimed her case as merely a miracle of the holiday season. Luckily nobody was hurt, on either end, not even a bruise. She was lucky this day, but not everyone always is. However, she was charged with failure to yield and had to face those consequences with the court and her family. She has since then reminded all of us that distracted driving should be a crime in itself. “Think twice, and save a life”

It’s important to remember that we cannot control other people on the roads, we can only control ourselves. In this case, we need to be sure to concentrate on what is around us. We are in charge of ourselves, controlling our emotions and how we react to what is happening around us. Stay calm when somebody cuts you off before merging or flips you off because you’re going the speed limit. We should stay educated, learn the traffic laws by heart, and remember to check our blind spots.

More than 46,000 people die in car crashes each year, according to Annual United States Road Crash Statistics. One of the main causes of these deaths has come from impaired driving. Whether it’s alcohol, drugs, or any other substance impairing a driver’s judgment and reflexes, the consequences can be catastrophic which frequently leads to death. It doesn’t just put the driver in danger but everyone else on the road along with them.

Before making an irrational decision while driving, just think about the impact you have on the road. Accidents and deaths affect far more than just you or the person you hit, it affects their loved ones. Everybody has somebody they would love to spend another day with, don’t let a stupid decision on the road be the reason somebody doesn’t get to see tomorrow.

So next time before getting on the road I will be sure to wake up a little earlier to eat breakfast at my kitchen counter, keep my phone out of reach, stay attentive, buckle up, and follow the rules of the road because I wouldn’t want to be the reason somebody loses someone they care about because everyone driving in a car is loved by somebody they wish to spend another day. So remember to think twice and save a life. You are loved.