Be the Exception

Be
the Exception

My
first experience driving came at the age of 14 when I went to a
driving school over the summer in Kansas. I felt like I was in the
minority when it came to teens my age because I had no desire to
drive, and was fine just chilling in the passenger seat of my mom’s
car. I finally had to face the music once the driving section of
course came around and we were put into groups of three. I was
definitely the youngest and worst out of the three of us. I will,
however, always remember the last day of our driving sessions after
we had all passed. Our driving instructor told us that 7 out of 10
new drivers got in a car accident within their first year of driving.
As if I didn’t need another reason to add to my list of excuses for
not wanting to drive. He went on to tell us, “I want you three to
be the exception to the rule.” During the end of summer I ended up
moving away to a place where 14 year olds could not drive with only
about two months of driving experience under my belt. So, in a way, I
was spared from that first driving statistic.

In
my freshman year of high school I remember watching a safe driving
video in class with kids looking less than enthusiastic with what
they were watching. Our teacher at the time stopped the video and
asked us, “You know why kids never take these types of videos
seriously?” We all just blankly stared at her as silence filled the
room before she continued, “because every one of them believes
they’ll be the exception to the rule.” She paused again before
continuing, “Well let me tell ya, cars don’t care who you are.
They don’t care if you’re a girl or a boy, they don’t care if
you’re young or old, and they sure enough don’t care if it’s the
night of the prom.” She was right. I sure enough didn’t think it
would happen to me. Partly, because I didn’t have a car to drive,
but even if I did I don’t think my mentality would have changed.
Still, I kept what my teacher said at the back of my mind for the
time I would be behind the wheel.

In
my junior year of high school I decided it was finally time to get my
driver’s license. Well it was actually my mother’s decision, but
mine nonetheless. I ended up going to another driving school for
three reasons. One, my permit had expired at the time. Secondly, I
was still slightly scared of driving. Finally, I moved to Japan.
Despite my focus on the United States, I would like to expand that
driving accidents are a global issue. Driving accidents with new
drivers happen everywhere, even in Japan. And I felt like a new
driver all over again being in a new environment with streets half
the size of those in the states and where they drove on the left side
of the road. This time I was pleasantly more comfortable at driving
which I can attribute to me being more mature. I still recall our
last in-class session with our instructor who had us all sign a
pledge that promised we would not text and drive. Telling us in a
very much more eloquent and impactful speech than I could write that
no one is exempt from a driving accident and it was always better to
be safe than sorry.

These
three isolated incidents seem to resonate in my mind whenever I
drive. I may have never been in an accident before, but I don’t let
that stop me from fearing that one day I could be. If I could, I
would make every teen sign that pledge to not text and drive. Even if
you sign the pledge and are adamant about wearing your seatbelt, not
drinking and driving, and just being the best driver you can possibly
be. You can still suffer at the expense of others’ negligence while
on the road. So let this be a reminder not only for you all reading
this, but spread the word to your peers and family as well. Because
if you get anything from this essay I hope that you remember that no
can be the exception, even you.