Better Late Than DEAD

Rules! Who wants to follow those as 16 year olds who just got their license? The freedom of finally being able to drive yourself and not have your parents take you everywhere is more exciting. We may see our parents use their phones while driving often so we believe that is okay. Fully stopping at stop signs no way you’re in a hurry right! Though do we ever stop to think what those extra seconds could have saved us. My highschool had a week designated to the dangers of driving under the influence. They would park a car that had been involved in what looked like a life ending accident, normally flipped upside down. If that didn’t implement fear in kids I don’t know what would.

Driver’s education isn’t always taught in schools anymore like it used to be. Kids these days have it easier. They are able to take a permit test at 15 ½ and they can take it right from the comfort of their homes. Some parents may keep their kids honest, but let’s be honest most parents want their kids to pass and will help them. I am so thankful I had a mother who was not like that. Taking the easy way out no way. I had to study the driving handbook cover to cover. My mother even made a binder for me and inside was a driving manual she had me studying.

The importance of driver education to reduce deaths is very important. Younger drivers are at more risk for being irresponsible. More precautions should be taken when allowing people to get behind a wheel and be responsible for other people’s lives. We can list all the steps that could be taken to reduce these deaths but in reality, will that make a change? I believe everyone should take safety precautions before, during and after operating a motor vehicle. Obeying traffic laws and educating the public is a huge step to be taken to prevent deaths.

I have never personally been in a car accident though I have witnessed many. During my spring break 2023, I was home from college and getting ready to go out with a close friend for breakfast. I answer my phone expecting her to say “hey girl I am here!!” That is not the call I received. I answered the phone to her panicking and hyperventilating telling me there was blood everywhere and she didn’t know what to do. She was in shock, she had just witnessed a car accident. I immediately jumped in my car as it was just on the street outside my neighborhood. Assessing the situation I see a car ran off the road and hit two out of three girls. My friend is trying to calm down the girl who was not hit. The police are trying to talk to her as she’s trying to get ahold of her family. The third girl was a wreck. She just witnessed her best friend and her bestfriends sister get hit by a car. The driver of the car had been on their phone and veered off the road. This unfortunately killed one of the girls who was only 13-14 years old. This event burned into my brain the dangers of just looking down at your phone for a second. Wishing you could have done more than just try to comfort. Seeing the pain in everyone’s eyes after this occurrence was brutal.

Sergeant Michael Tooley, a bright young man. I never had the courage to meet but was very proud to be related to. My cousin Sergeant Michael Tooley was known and loved by many. His life was taken too soon by a hit and run driver. Were they on their phone? Drinking and driving? Our family may never know. Michael was walking back to his base when his life was abruptly taken and his family’s lives would be changed forever. He was instantly killed. His daughter would never meet her father.

If both these drivers had implemented safer driving, maybe things would be different. Instead lives have been hurt and changed forever. All due to the fact of poor driving practices. How do we fix this? Will people listen or brush it off their shoulders? When you have a personal trauma or event that impacts you, then you are more likely to listen. What about those who just hear it on the news and then brush it off their shoulders.

So what can I do to be a safer and better driver and help others do the same? I can start by avoiding distractions and sharing with others my same strategies. I will admit I listen to music at a higher volume than I probably should. I can lower the volume at which I have my radio. Locking your phone in the glove box or middle console is also a good start/idea. This can limit distractions but also have easy access incase of an emergency. Another aspect is to speak up! If you feel unsafe in someone’s car, tell them. You should not put yourself in danger to keep from hurting feelings.

Driving is a privilege and should be honored. Rules should be followed and respected. Lives are so valuable and should not be taken for granted. Especially not for that singular text that will not matter in five years. Things may seem like the end of the world but your life and being alive is way more important than risking it behind the wheel.