Name: Isabel Bach-Lefler
From: Redmond , WA
Votes: 0
Safe Driving
It was a damp
night in October of 2017. A typical occurrence in the suburbs
Seattle, the roads were damp from earlier rain showers. I was in the
car with my friend driving from our high school to Bellevue Square
Mall where our Redmond Varsity Girls Soccer team was gifted 20% off
all products at Lululemon Athletica. We were very excited. I knew
Lily drove on her phone, but I never thought much of it. Plenty of
people I know do, and they never seemed to get in any trouble. I sat
there in the passenger seat, when she decided to change the music.
Pulling her phone out, she continued talking while she flew down the
hill. I saw the break lights, and she didn’t. Next thing I knew my
head was almost inside the trunk of a 2010 gray Volkswagen Jetta.
Pain laced my back and surged up my neck into my head. I don’t
think Lily uttered a word other than “fuck” for the next 30
minutes. I got treatment for my back, nothing physical therapy and
routine massages cannot fix. I still struggle with back pain, but I
have continued to strengthen the muscles in my back to combat my
accident.
Distracted
driving is the number one issue modern drivers have to combat. The
urge to check your phone or eat your lunch is often hard to overcome.
Most of the time, we get away with it. Other times, we are punished
for our ignorance. Distracted driving killed 3,447 people in 2015
alone, with over 50,000 related injuries reported. To fight the
distracted driving disease, harsher drivers ed courses need
to be taught. Students have to be shown first-hand the deadly effects
of not only distracted driving, but driving under the influence,
aggressive driving, and other irresponsible actions that lead to
automobile deaths. Drivers ed should also begin to be
taught at an earlier age. Instead of waiting until 15 years old to
teach teens how to drive, why don’t schools incorporate safe
driving courses? Much like sex ed, the basics of the road could be
taught each year in little courses. This way, kids grow up with
exposure to the rules of the road. This could cause less traffic
fatalities because teenagers would have a better grasp on driving
laws. Law enforcement also has to be held accountable. Countless
times I have encountered police officers driving while texting on a
mobile phone, or practicing other dangerous habits. This sets a
dangerous precedent. If law enforcement neglects to follow the very
laws they are trying to implement, hypocrisy becomes an issue. Local
police departments lose authority when they don’t practice the very
laws they are trying to enforce.
