Every Second

I live a few blocks down from my high school, close enough to walk. Every morning, I stand at the crosswalk as cars zoom by, the faster ones stirring the leaves at my feet. You can feel the power they possess, each three-thousand-pound hunk of steel sounding a small “woosh” as it flies by. It was a miracle that David wasn’t hurt when he got hit.

I wasn’t there when David got hit, but I heard the stories. He’s a fellow walker, a crosswalk veteran, but that day he didn’t show it. Failing to look both ways, he stepped straight into incoming traffic and was hit by a truck; luckily, he flew up in the air instead of being run over. The driver had been alert enough to hit their breaks in time, turning a potentially fatal accident into a few scrapes and bruises. David hit the ground, got up, and continued to school.

As I stand on the sidewalk each morning, I peer into the front windshield of each car that passes. I lock eyes with drivers, daring them to stop and let me pass. Unfortunately, most people are too distracted to notice. Too often I see a phone being held up by the hand on the wheel, eyes on a screen instead of the road. I can’t help but think that David was very lucky. If he had been hit by a distracted driver, I would be telling a very different story.

Driving requires complete concentration. If something goes wrong, it is all too easy for an accident to turn fatal. Driver’s Education works to prevent this. It gives young drivers warnings about common threats, like texting while driving, but also informs them about lesser-known dangers, such as driving while tired. According to the CDC, drivers ages 16-19 are three times as likely as other drivers to be in a fatal car crash. New drivers are less experienced and less prepared for dangerous situations on the road. They are more apt to panic when faced with a hazardous situation. Drivers Education gives new drivers confidence and equips them with the tools they need to stay safe on the road.

I was not ready for the road when I started driving. I did well on my driver’s test, but I was nervous when driving alone, uncertain without the security of an adult in the passenger seat. I had to drive alone when I got my first job, which was located off a busy highway. I took backroads to get there and back, but one day I got in the wrong lane. I made a wrong turn, Google Maps got confused, and suddenly it was directing me onto the highway. I had just started driving. I was not ready for that. As I muttered curses to the Google gods, I looked over my shoulder, preparing to merge; thankfully, the lane was open. Though my nerves were still on edge, I was relieved, thinking that the worst of it was over. I took a quick peek at Google Maps. I did not see the “lane ends” sign. When I looked up, I was faced with an orange construction barrel. It was too late to change lanes. I slammed on the brakes and braced for impact as I collided with the barrel, sending it bouncing off into the distance. I was stuck on the side of the highway, eighteen-wheelers rocking my car as they zoomed by. I had looked away for half a second, and that was where I landed.

I learned the hard way that every second counts. Every second is a chance for something to go wrong, for a lane to end, for a friend to step into the road, for a small mistake to turn deadly. With the power of transportation comes the responsibility of constant attention. When I drive, I do not talk. I do not listen to music. I do not look at my phone. I know that my actions have consequences, that a misstep could endanger other drivers, my passengers, and myself. The best way to decrease deaths while driving is to take it seriously, to realize that every second matters.

When I am driving, I want to be like my sister. We were coming home from a frisbee game one Sunday afternoon, both of us dead tired, when I asked to put on the radio. Louisa said no; she needed her full focus to be on driving because of how tired she was. We were rounding a bend when I saw movement out of my window. I turned my head in time to see a flash of red as my sister slammed on the breaks and swerved the car into the median. A teenager had run out into the road, right into the path of our car. Louisa had swerved just in time, preventing a terrible accident. Even with her actions, the side mirror of our car was broken, cracked by the force of colliding with the pedestrian’s hand. Louisa hadn’t panicked. She wasn’t distracted. Her actions saved his life.

We all have an obligation to be like my sister, to focus on the road. Drivers are in control of dangerous machines that require complete attention. Too often we do not take the dangers of the road seriously. We turn the radio up, we glance at the phone, we take our eyes off the road for just one second, rationalizing that nothing will go wrong. That is dangerous thinking. We all have an obligation to focus, keeping other drivers safe, passengers safe, and ourselves safe.