Checking Your Priorities

I recall it quite clearly, when suddenly my face became hot and my hands forgot how to move, I was nearly shaking in my seat. It would have been reasonable to assume that I was skeptical of my ability to execute the new skills that had been crammed into my head only days earlier. As the moment arrived for me to begin what I believed would be a dreadful first drive that I wanted so badly to get out of, I panicked, the seat felt cramped, and the mirrors were too low. My instructor encouraged me, and I knew he could see the terror in my eyes as I turned to him, hoping to put this off just a little longer. I wanted to tell him that this was the first time I had ever sat in the driver’s seat, let alone put my foot on the petals. I knew there was no more time to waste, but when I took the last few seconds to gather my thoughts, I remembered my mother. She had dropped me off, and I knew that in a matter of hours, I would be in our car telling her all about this. realizing that it was now up to me to make sure that today I would tell her about my bravery.  As I started the car, I felt a sense of relief in my mind and body.

Despite the fact that I began driving nearly four years ago, I still consider the day I first drove a car to be one of my most memorable moments to date. Many people are unable to comprehend the significance of the material they learn during their driver’s education because it begins when they’re so young. I’m a little older than most of my classmates, meaning that I was one of the first to take Drivers Training, once I finished everyone commented on how lucky I was to be permitted to drive a car now.  Naturally told anyone who would listen that this was the coolest thing imaginable. But, as I watched the kids around me age and also attain the license to drive, I became fearful for their safety. Now that I’m eighteen, and my younger sister is set to begin her first lessons, I’m anxious about her safety as well.

In the many classes I attended during my time during both segments of drivers training we learned about situations that were terrifying. I discovered that seeing a car crash in a movie is not the same as preparing to avoid head-on crashes. Or realizing that if your gas pedal becomes stuck, it is ultimately up to you to ensure your survival. These were situations I had never imagined for myself, but as we learned more about the hazards that awaited us on the road, I became less terrified and more prepared. Accidents happen, and you hear about them on the news or see them on the road as you drive by, but the education you receive on how to avoid and minimize damage if you’re in one is what benefits you the most.  Although it’s difficult to imagine oneself in a ditch with your car tipped over, you try to figure out ways to prevent this from happening every time you drive. These classes teach kids who will soon be part of the motor vehicle community how to think about the dangers as well as how to avoid these hypothetical circumstances from happening in the real world.

You see billboards with all sorts of clever slogans, attempting to persuade the public that wearing a seatbelt is really that critical. You might dismiss it, convincing yourself that a small strap over your chest and waist can’t possibly provide that much protection. But then you hear of a boy your age who died yesterday night in a town only a few miles away. You read about it and hear about it on the news, and you learn that he would still be alive today if he had only paid attention to the signs. He didn’t buckle his seatbelt, and as a result, he lost his life that day. The importance is there, yet there is a lack of comprehension. “It’s not you I’m worried about, it’s other people,” my mother usually says to me when I complain that she is excessively worrying about me. Accepting that no matter what precautions you take that you could become involved in an accident anytime you step into the vehicle, whether you’re the driver or a passenger, you must buckle up.

My concern for the safety of drivers stems from a place of love. Every month, it seems as though I hear of so many accidents. From major pileups on the freeway during the winter to a classmate of mine colliding with a school bus at the end of a school day, I’ve seen it all. However, one accident pains me to think about those who appear to be somewhat less concerned about safe driving. When I was around eight years old, my grandfather became ill, and he was admitted to the hospital for an extended stay. I recall the burden this placed on my parents and grandmother. My parents were working full-time as teachers, and my mother had also been studying for a higher education degree. Throughout this time, We couldn’t afford for me to eat breakfast or lunch at school or buy new winter jackets like all my other friends. This was a tough period during my childhood since the strains of life seemed to have taken over my family’s lives. My grandmother was devastated to learn that her beautiful husband was becoming increasingly unwell, and as she spent more nights with him in the hospital, I could see the stress wreaking havoc on her elderly body, I remember clearly how her eyes didn’t seem to glow and when we saw her she didn’t smile like she had in the past.

The accident happened closer to the end of my grandfather’s life.  According to what I’ve learned, she was driving home from the hospital late in the night and hit a car that was passing through the intersection.  The drivers of the smaller car had run a red light, and my grandmother collided with them, causing lives to be lost at no fault of her own.  My grandma never mentioned the accident to my papa and I ‘m grateful that my sister and I were separated from the situation until we were older. The parents of the adolescents were forced to mourn their children, and my grandma grieved her sense of happiness after ending someone’s life and having her husband taken from her not long after. Every time I drive past the intersection in which this accident took place, I think of the individuals who don’t know the story and who may be driving unsafely today.