How Driving Rocked My World

Every time we buckle up behind the wheel, we enter a new journey filled with opportunity and risk, which sometimes people fail to identify. Driving is an essential part of modern life. It offers freedom and convenience. Yet, it comes with a significant number of responsibilities which some people seem to take for granted. Around the world, millions of vehicles take the road everyday. Therefore, the importance of driving safety cannot be ignored. It is crucial that a collective effort be made across the world to ensure people understand the risk and responsibility they are taking on when they decide to get that little piece of paper that gives them the freedom they have desired for years.

The only portions of my driving education course I can remember are the lessons on the importance of not texting and driving and the time I spent in the car practicing with my dad. I remember the number of videos I watched portraying tragic events that occurred because of texting and driving. At the time, I felt I was being scared out of ever wanting to use my phone while driving. However, that was a long time ago, and while I do think a lot of those stories have stuck with me, I can only imagine even farther down the road when they will probably become a long lost memory.

I took four years of foreign language, and while I would like to say I still speak nearly fluent Spanish, I would be lying to you if I did. People say they “lose” the language because they don’t use it everyday. It is hard to remember things you do not constantly review or practice, but this is just like Driver’s Education. I took that many years ago, and I would love to say I can remember each and every tip I heard. I would like to think all the stories and events they told us about still held a spot in my memory. However, the things I do remember are few and far between. The only things I remember well are things that I deemed at that time to pertain to me. I think often times we hear certain about stories, events, or tips to use or think about while driving, but the problem is I think many people brush those thoughts off. Many people think to themselves that the odds are against a tragic driving related event ever happening to themselves or a loved one. I am one of those people. I always thought the chances were with me and that that kind of thing was so unlikely to happen to me. I ignored some of the tips and stories. I chose to rely on hope instead of reality. All of that changed this past October.

It all changed because it did happen to someone close to me. Three of my relatives were involved in a horrific traffic accident. My uncle is still in recovery. A fractured pelvis, torn ligaments, compound fracture, spine fracture, and bleeding in the brain are not minor injuries. While my cousin was lucky with her injuries and same with her boyfriend, they are still recovering too. The crazy thing is that for them it was a normal day. Car broke down on the side of the road, which was expected from the old thing. My uncle went to help, and within an instant another vehicle drove off the road, hit them from behind, sending the car smashing into my uncle’s truck, and launching my uncle at least 25 ft into the ditch. While, it wasn’t their fault, the incident has reminded me to be more diligent on the road. It has reminded me to start taking some of those tips and stories from Driver’s Ed that I had forgotten much more seriously because these kinds of things can happen to us and those we love. It can happen fast, and I would rather regret spending the time it takes me to be more diligent than regret not taking those steps after something happens.

So, while their story for me will always be my reasoning to me more diligent. I know for some, there is still a struggle to hold those stories in their memory. This is why I believe educating people on other people’s incidents and stories is the best way to have more diligent drivers. This could mean sharing stories and videos at a DMV when people are there. There could be adds on television to educate people on what could happen to them if they are unaware and careless when driving. Whatever it is, it needs to scare people away from dangerous behaviors. It has to be something that will stick in their brains. We learn history in school to prevent certain events from happening ever again. Imagine if we used traffic accidents to learn from the mistakes and prevent them from happening again. I truly believe that could make a difference. It is definitely worth a try because we can’t sit back and continue to lose people to something that can be fixed.