In the Driver’s Seat

Mia Davis

Driver Education Initiative Award

4/30/2021

In the Driver’s Seat

“I’m not that drunk. I didn’t drink that much! Ill be fine to drive home, I promise!”: These are all things that my family member must have said before getting behind the wheel. She had been out with her boyfriend at a bar and thought it best to drive him and herself home after far too many drinks. This is just one of the many incidents that has taught me the importance of safe driving. From irresponsible family members to multiple student casualties, I have had numerous experiences to remind me that people are not invincible. If people do not take the road serious, bad things do happen.

To protect her identity, I will keep my family members name out of my paper; however, her story needs to be told. Intoxicated and driving, she decided to stop for gas on the way home. She would soon come to find out that her life would shorty be changed forever. Having fueled her vehicle, she kicks it in reverse, plows backwards, and hits a young man on a motorcycle. Getting out of her car, she inspected the situation. The bike was on top of the man, leg broke, and the man was undoubtably stuck. Knowing that the police had been called, and she would be ticketed for a DUI, she proceeded to get back in her car and drive away. Adrenaline pumping though her alcohol filled body, she speeds right into a fast food parking lot ditch where the cops were able to apprehend and arrest her for two charges: driving while intoxicated and now a hit and run. I still remember the day I got home from work when my brother showed me her mug shot he found online. In absolute shock that my own blood would be capable of doing this, he explained that the man she had hit was in surgery. Within a month she lost her job, her dignity, and her family. All of which could have been prevented by calling someone to give her a ride home.

Not long after, a series of tragic accidents hit my high school. More specifically, my class. Three of my classmates got into a head on accident while trying to pass in a no-pass zone. They died on impact. Two months later, another classmate of mine flipped her father’s SUV driving to school. She bled out in the car. Lastly, in the summer before graduation, yet another student in my class decided to drive a dirt bike to a local grocery store, I happened to work at, in the dark with no lights. He got hit and died in the arms of a co-worker of mine. All of these stories are tragic in their own way: however, they all link to one thing: reckless driving. As a young high school student, you think you are invincible. With your whole life ahead of you, you’d never think that you’d be one of those tragic losses you hear about. I won’t get into that car crash and die never to see my family again… that’s only thing that you hear about… right? Wrong. I lost five of my classmates to stupid mistakes. Five of the people that I grew up with did not get to walk beside us last year to graduate. They will never get to travel, see the world, fall in love, have a family… nothing. They lost their one chance at life because of irresponsible decisions.

Whether you are a beginner driver or an experienced one, anyone who sits behind the wheel of a car has automatically taken on a major responsibility. The responsibility to protect yourself, protect other individuals in your car, and protect everyone else on the road by making concrete and sound decisions. Stories like mine can be prevented! Educating people of the dangers of driving is the first step in stopping these accidents and ones that are much worse. Don’t be the tragic young loss that leaves their family far too soon. Don’t be that drunk driver who thinks that they will make it home okay because they haven’t drank that much. Educate yourself, your friends, and your families of the importance of safe driving. Imagine if that man on the bike sustained injuries far beyond modern medicines abilities. Imagine if the children in the car, SUV, or the dirt bike was your son, daughter, brother, sister, or friend. Do your part in educating and warning everyone on the seriousness of driving. If you see someone about to drive drunk, offer a ride home! If you witness reckless driving, speak up! Don’t be that reckless driver and don’t be that bystander! You might just save a life.