Being The Driver

Being the Driver

My name is Audrey Hawkins, and I am a seventeen-year-old high school senior in Shawnee Oklahoma. I have been driving for over a year now and I have already been in my first car accident due to unsafe driving. I have only been on the road for sixteen months and I have already been affected by the whiplash, seatbelt burns, and bruises that come from being in a car wreck, and I am one of the lucky ones.

My car accident was not even close to being the worst. An older woman was not looking when she drove into the intersection and t-boned me. Even through just one experience I can already see how important drivers’ education is in our society. I believe if adult drivers were given more testing to see if they were fit to drive, we would have safer roads. It is unreasonable to believe that one driver’s Ed class when a person is fifteen will provide them with enough training for the rest of their lives. We need to expand driver’s education to the older generations as well as the younger ones. We need everyone to be aware on the roads, so more lives can be saved.

I know how fast people forget what they learned in drivers Ed; I have seen the horrors of what can happen when a person is not paying attention for a split second. Just a few months ago one of my oldest friends was killed in a car accident. She took a split-second right turn and did not look to see if someone was coming the other way. I will never see my friend again because for only a split second she was not aware on the road. Her family members will never see her smile again because of one small mistake. Even one mistake can turn into an action that you can never take back. Due to this, I will never drive again without remembering that in a split second it could all be over.

As I said before, I was one of the lucky ones in my accident. The thought of being gone in an instant keeps me safe on the road. However, I wish there could have been more help for the people who are already gone. Help for the people who have already made a mistake they cannot take back. That is why when I drive with my little brother who is going through driving school right now, I always tell him how important every turn and stoplight is, because one mistake could take the rest of his life.