The Importance of Being Aware on the Road

The Importance of Being Aware on the Road

By Sheryl Voltaire

Driving is an exciting privilege, but we often forget something important. Whenever you’re driving, your life isn’t the only one you’re protecting. Many of us in our teenage years receive this piece of plastic that is ultimately our “pass to freedom.” We have our friends in the front and back seats, windows down, and music loud. We think we are invincible and fail to realize, at any second our lives can be cut short because of distractions or distracted drivers.

I believe that we take cars and driving for granted. Yes, we’ve completed the modules and earned our certificates, but the significance of safe driving is often overlooked. Too many times we lose people or have come close to losing people in accidents that could’ve been avoided. Looking at our phones for one second isn’t as innocent as some may think. Being distracted comes at a cost. Your life or someone else’s. Driving under the influence. Imagine if everyone took the initiative of making sure anyone intoxicated had a safe way of getting home. Putting on your seatbelt correctly is something so crucial that drivers and passengers tend to gloss over. At what cost?

In high school and currently, people talk about driving under the influence, but still being “good enough to drive.” I see people put their seatbelts behind them instead of in front of them. I’ve seen people shop online while driving. I wonder where driver’s education went wrong. Why don’t people seem to care? I do think it comes from the lack of experience. I don’t mean experience in having been in a car crash, but experience as in speaking with survivors or people who have lost loved ones’ in car accidents.

In 2019, I met a wonderful coworker. He made friends with everyone and always had amazing energy. We had such a fun day at work. We played games, laughed, and took pictures for the end of the summer. The very next day, we had found out he had passed in a car accident early in the morning. The paramedics found him unresponsive with no seatbelt on. Apparently, he had gone out the night before and may have had a few drinks. His death brought so much pain. He was only 21. He was loved by such a massive community.

Yet, why do we continue to lose people like this every year? I think it’s time to be aggressive. Make sure our friends are not driving intoxicated, call the police when we notice intoxicated drivers, put our phones away, wear our seatbelts, and most importantly, look out for each other. We need to have drivers empathize with victims of careless drivers. Show them that losing one’s life or taking someone else’s should never come as a result of negligence. It is our responsibility to become better drivers and influence a new generation of safe drivers.