One Mistake, One life: Why We Must Do Better

  You feel the excitement rush through your veins as you climb inside and close the door. You adjust your rearview as you feel your foot grace the cold gas pedal. It is an experience many teens wait their whole lives for. The freedom that driving brings is wonderful, however, this freedom met with negligence can lead to irreversible moments that haunt someone for the rest of their lives. In fact, 43% of first-year drivers are involved in car accidents and 14% of these wrecks involve the use of a cell phone. Driving has become so commonplace for many that we fail to recognize driving itself as a dangerous task that requires our utmost attention. This results in the life-or-death question: how can we as a society prevent the occurrence of fatal car accidents?

  The average length of a driver training course for adolescents consists of thirty-two hours of material. This course typically covers common road laws and the dangers that distracted driving can present to inexperienced and experienced drivers alike. However, is this course enough to reduce the number of car accident fatalities? Well, studies show the effectiveness of the program depends on the delivery of the information. A study done on 151,800 Nebraska adolescents compared teens who were parent-taught and teens who went through a structured driving course. Of the teens who were parent-taught, 11.1% were involved in a car accident and 10.4% received a road violation. This is compared to 12.9% of teens who were parent-taught and were involved in a car accident and 18.3% who received a road law violation. Adolescents are often naive as to why knowledge of the road is crucial.  As such, it is imperative to monitor a teen’s process and ensure they are giving their undivided attention to the driving material. This means that parents should keep a close eye on their child’s progress or consider an instructor-led driving course if this proves easier. 

  In 2014, a typical college student was driving home with his friends. The group of friends had been consuming alcoholic beverages, but they had taken the step to assign a designated driver. The sober friend was driving home when suddenly the car swerved across the freeway and hit the center divider. Although Alan had been sober, he fell asleep at the wheel. The simple mistake of driving home tired caused Alan’s friend to go into a coma and develop a traumatic brain injury that lives with him to this day. It can be hard to see the positive in an awful story like this. However, this one story alone shows drivers that it is not worth the risk to drive home tired. It is through the mistakes and regrets of others that we can raise awareness to remove distractions, alcohol or drug use, and altered driving on our roadways. Likewise, taking extra steps such as downloading apps like LifeSaver prevents drivers from using their cellphones as it automatically locks the phone as soon as the vehicle begins moving, ensuring that drivers are not distracted and can give their full attention to the road. It is the responsibility of community members to make our community a safer place for drivers.

  I sat in my room alone, studying for my SAT when my bedroom door flung open. My mom told me to hurry and put my coat on as she sped to the hospital. At 11:00 that night, my mother’s best friend, Erik, took a curb too fast, causing him to spin out, and hit the concrete wall. In the vehicle with him had been his sister who was rushed to the hospital and went into emergency surgery. We waited for three grueling hours until 2 am rolled around, waiting for her to get released. She survived and made a full recovery after a few months but not everyone is as lucky as her. To see the pain it caused her family is something that makes you realize speeding isn’t worth the adrenaline rush. Since this experience, I buckle up and put my phone away, ensuring I drive safely. Likewise, if I see someone driving carelessly, I ask them to do better because I don’t want to see them go through what Alan or Erik went through. Safety isn’t just about us as the drivers. It is about our family, friends, and the lives of the other drivers on the road. 

Robert Kennedy once said, “Tragedy is a tool for the living to gain wisdom, not a guide by which to live.” I believe that the stories of tragedy on the roadway should be something to gain wisdom from but not fear at every cost. While motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people aged 16-24, it doesn’t have to stay this way. We can improve our roadways by increasing our awareness, teaching our youth, and monitoring our drivers. We must come together, and we must do better, we owe it to the lives that have been affected by the daily act we call driving.