Drive safe, we need you here

Imagine it’s 12:00 pm, soon enough you look at the time and to your surprise, the clock says 5:00 pm, you hear your dads voice in the distance… “ Bella, time for dinner!”. You sigh and slowly make your way back to the driveway and into the house where your family is setting the dinner table. Every so often my family and I would take the two hour trip to my uncle’s house in New Hampshire, which I thoroughly enjoyed as I got to drive around his rundown horse track for hours on end, flicking the blinker, practicing my parking and reversing, jamming out to the radio, having the time of my life. Since I can remember I have been enamored by the idea of driving, however I knew the possible risks that came along with it. I had heard endless stories on fatal car accidents, drunk drivers, and the dangers of reckless driving. I made sure from the time I was 13 to practice my driving skills as much as possible before getting behind the wheel on busy, distracting streets. My dad would take me to empty parking lots, place a cone at the opposite end, and say, “now drive fast”. I would place my foot on the accelerator, feeling the car’s speed get increasingly more powerful, and as the cone became closer and closer I would hear my father say, “now, STOP”. This exercise was to practice breaking in an emergency and getting an idea of how fast you can stop a car if need be.

A few years later, these practice sessions with my dad became practice sessions with my driving instructor. As excited as I was to get to practice my driving on the real road, I was nervous, of course, and made sure to take all the safety precautions. I remember my driving instructor being impressed by my skills and knowledge of the car’s mechanics. Of course, like most highschoolers, I took a drivers ed class after school where we sat in a classroom for two hours, learning about the rules of the road. In my mind, I couldn’t help thinking about how boring it was and how I would much rather be in a car learning this material. However, what I learned in that classroom will live with me forever. How to avoid crashing while hydroplaning, what to do if you find yourself in a car accident, my teacher even showed us videos of terrible car accidents and had us analyze how it could have been avoided. As boring as the class seemed at the time, I believe I would not be the driver I am today without it.

I am now 18, I have been driving for a couple years, and everything is going great. My dad comes home one day with a grim look on his face. He sits me and my family down and explains that one of his good friends’ daughter died from a drunk driver collision while they were on their way back from skiing, she was only 13. The mom was driving and there were two girls in the back seat, one being the little girl that passed away, the other her friend, who was in the hospital for months, and will now never be able to live on her own. They were turning into Dunkin donuts as the girls wanted some hot chocolate after a successful ski day, and before they knew it, they were spinning on the icy roads after a drunk man at full speed collided with them. I never looked at driving the same after this, and still to this day think about that family and hope the parents and younger brother are doing alright. I knew that if this man had been thoroughly taught about the dangers of driving drunk and feared the consequences more, then this could have been avoided. There is no question that in today’s day and age people need to be even more mindful while driving as many people are on their phones texting, snapchatting, changing their music, the list goes on. You cannot be too careful and it is important that people are taught this at a young age.

In order to prevent the rising number of deaths as a result of driving, there are many initiatives we can take that could help save a life. To begin, a strong foundation of knowing driving safety is key. Instilling it into kids as soon as they begin driver’s education is the best way for them to understand the importance of safe driving. I also believe that every parent should take their child to an empty parking lot and teach them the basics, so when they do begin driving on the road, they are more than prepared. Also, spreading awareness about the dangers of texting and driving as it is a growing issue that needs to be addressed. For me, putting on my seatbelt is muscle memory and should be for everyone. Seat belts save lives. Overall, there are many things we can do to avoid fatal accidents, and I hope for my future and everyone’s future that one day we will see this change.