Name: Madison Cawvey
From: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Votes: 0
37,461, the number of people killed each year in car accidents. My
dad was almost one of those 37,461. Almost two years ago, my dad was
heading home from Chicago for a work program. He entered a
construction zone on the highway when a semi pulled behind him. As he
began to slow down towards a stop, the semi driver that was not
paying attention did not slow down and rear-ended my dad. He was able
to call 911, but soon after that, his neck and back began to hurt. He
then could not move and almost lost consciousness. The emergency
vehicles began to arrive, but my dad still could not move. They told
him there was a chance that he broke his back. They drove him in the
ambulance to the nearest hospital. My mom got the call and drove to
Chicago as fast as she could. After many tests and doctors coming
through my dad’s back ended up not broken but still messed up but
also had a bad concussion. My dad was then able to come home but had
to do physical therapy for over 6 months. He healed very well, but I
almost lost my dad because a driver was distracted. This accident
could have been avoided if steps were taken to teach drivers to pay
more attention.
Most teens do not take drivers ed anymore; as less have been
attending class, more innocent people have been dying. Driver’s
education helps teen-drivers learn how to stay focused on the road
even when multiple things are happening around them. By making
drivers ed a requirement for everyone before receiving their
license would help to lower the accident and death rates. Another
step that can be taken is show drivers about to receive their license
scenes from accidents or statics from distracted drivers to grab
their attention and make them more aware of what they are doing.
Maybe include a safety video on what can happen when the drivers are
not paying attention. Alternatively, an app could be made that causes
the phone to lock up when they are driving, which will lead to less
distracted driving caused by technology. By completing these steps
there would be less deaths because drivers would be educated on this
part of driving.
As a teen driver, I can be safer by making sure my phone is off and
put away. I can make sure that there are no distractions. I can also
make sure that other drivers while I’m in the car are being safe
and not getting distracted. By being a passenger, I hold much
responsibility on the driver, I can make sure the phone is put down,
or if it is urgent, I can respond instead of the driver. I can also
make sure that I am not distracting the driver. I am going to make
sure I am a safer driver, so no one loses a parent or family member
like I almost did.
