GREAT POWER COMES WITH GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

GREAT
POWER COMES WITH GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

At
the age of fifteen I can vividly recall the excitement as I and all
my friends buzzed about our new ability to drive our parent’s cars.
I, like many teens in the United States learned how to operate a
vehicle by my parents; my father took me out to a local park and
taught me how to steer, accelerate, park, reverse, you name it- I
often would beg him to take me on another lesson. My mother would
have me accompany her to the supermarket as she held onto the
dashboard and handle, correcting my every move behind the wheel. By
the age of sixteen I was finally ready to take my driver’s license
test and it was a day I will never forget. Driving to me- and like to
many- is a symbolism of freedom, it’s about being in control and
having the power to choose where you’re going to end up .But as it
comes with great power, it also comes with great responsibility and a
bit of danger.

Growing
up in Miami, Florida I can tell you that the driving here is like no
other, I often wonder how most people on the road obtained their
license. Drivers ed is important in order to keep drivers and
others on the roads within the realms of safety. Knowing how to
operate a vehicle is one thing and fairly easy, however, knowing the
rules of the road are often more complex but extremely necessary. If
everyone is aware of the rules or the road then the amount deaths due
to driving would decrease tremendously. In the state of Florida I
personally feel that it has become too easy to obtain a license.
Drivers ed courses, though offered in some schools has now
converted to online means. This has led to an increase in cheating
and passing rates have soared. Though, more people are passing there
is now the issue that many on the road aren’t fully aware of all
the rules, thus, making driving in today’s society more dangerous
than it’s ever been.

Unfortunately,
I have been involved in a few accidents in my life time; the most
recent being only 2 weeks ago. My best friend’s mother was taking
me and her children to go see a movie, a woman in another vehicle on
the left lane swerved into our middle lane without using her blinker
or awareness of other cars. This caused the driver, my friend’s
mother, to spin uncontrollably as all airbags thankfully went off,
they dangerously blinded her from the outside world. We swerved onto
a curb, went airborne, hit a speed limit sign, and then spun out till
finally hitting a tree. This most recent accident was one I will not
forget as it was the worst I had ever been in. The car was totaled
and as a result we found out the woman in the other vehicle was on
her cellphone which caused her to be distracted. Her irresponsibility
costs my friend’s mother her car, a panic attack, and lose of
feeling in her arms as her ligaments were strained from gripping the
wheel.

Driving
can be an exhilarating experience when done the right way, however,
it is always important to remember the responsibility each driver has
to those around them. Steps that can be taken to ensure safety for
all are stricter drivers ed rather than online access. Making
sure the public is properly informed on road rules will decrease the
amount of deaths caused by driving. Stopping the use of cell phones
while on the road should also be enforced; anyone in a vehicle should
never hesitate to say that the driver should refrain from using their
phone as it poses a risk to their safety and to others on the road.
If steps like these are taken driving will once again be seen as a
path to freedom rather than a daily risk.