The Scariest Ride of my life: How Reckless driving turned me into a Safe Driver

Growing up, my brother was always the crazy adventurous one, the daredevil, the rebellious boundary pusher. This spirit extended into his driving when on the road. He would often speed, tailgate, and make risky passes in unnecessary circumstances. He was an easily distracted driver, and consistently on his phone, answering text messages, and even scrolling instagram while in a vehicle. I remember drives home from school as he sped his way past traffic, and narrowly missed running into multiple cars. His breaks constantly slammed forcing us to a halt, and cursing at a random driver, due to road rage was a common occurrence. I remember, my mom getting calls from him, after he and his friends crashed multiple times, luckily avoiding dramatic injuries, however he himself was never behind the wheel when in these crashes.

My brother’s recklessness came to fruition one day, when he suffered a seizure while driving on the road. According to his recollection, the car swerved violently, and miraculously halted. No crash was involved, but he was rushed to the hospital, and his license was suspended, for a period of time. This was not an uncommon idea, that his license had been suspended, because he had been pulled over too many times to count, and his driving did not go unrecognized by local law enforcement.

This incident served as a reminder, of the dangers of reckless driving. My parents had taught me the dangers of being negligent on the road. I had heard stories of family members getting into fatal crashes and many of them not making it out alive. These stories are not just subject to the one instance with my brother. My uncle and his young 6–8-year-old son, also experienced trauma, due to the acts of negligent driving. While taking his son on a walk, or some kind of adventure, a car out of nowhere, speed up the hill and hit them both. Being from a military background, my uncle was able to withstand the crash, however his son almost lost his life. The experience for them was traumatic to say the least. Both of them were severely injured, and in the hospital for months. I am extremely grateful, that my family has had a course of pure luck, allowing these experiences to not be fatal. However, many families, with similar situations, have drastically different outcomes.

Both these instances happened roughly around the time I either first started obtaining my permit, or while I was in the early stages of driving with a license independently. The stories and effects of negligent driving I had seen throughout my childhood served as a dark reminder of the dangers of reckless driving. I realized that the behavior of my brother, and the driver who hit my family, wasn’t just about a thrill-seeking adventure, it was a symptom of an underlying issue that still plagues drivers today. These drivers often times unknowingly put themselves and others at risk, because they don’t see or understand the consequences of their actions. Although my brother had seen some immediate legal consequences of not obeying traffic laws, it wasn’t until experiences like these that he began to see the dark effect negligent driving has on society. After these experiences, he began to take more precaution while on the road, however this sudden change of heart did not eliminate the consequences he had experienced as a bad driver. His car insurance was and is astronomically high, due to his high number of pull over, seizures, and failure to comply with traffic laws.

In the aftermath of these instances, I became determined to become a different kind of driver. One who notices the extreme dangers on the road. I took my drivers education courses seriously, and spent hours evaluating how I could be a safe driver, in such a high paced road. I heard more stories from families who weren’t as lucky as my own and became crushed. In instances where I am running late, I choose to remain calm and stay the speed limit. When I know I have an important text message waiting from someone, I turn my phone on driving mode to eliminate the distraction. As a result, my driving record is squeaky clean. I have avoided accidents by refusing to allow distractions in my car while I am driving. Although unpopular, I make it clear to those I drive with that if the music, or conversation becomes to distracting, I will pull over and wait.

Its important that individuals and organizations take this issue more seriously, than they currently have been. Law enforcement should not tolerate speeding drivers, just because they are only going 13 extra miles an hour. In pedestrian areas the security on the road should be increased. Organizations could also spend resources on improving road designs, making the roads safer to separate pedestrians and drivers in more areas. The state could pass stricter laws on drunk driving and ensure harsher penalties.

Although the suggestions above are important to helping eliminate deaths on the road, the ultimate responsibility, is in the literal hands of the driver. Choose to be the driver that follows the traffic laws; choose to be the driver who pulls over when distracted; choose to be the driver who lets a car in your lane; choose to be the driver who reports reckless driving; choose to be the driver who educates his family about the importance of driving safe; and choose to be the driver who saves a life. The choice is up to the individual to drive on the road as an example. Its up to each of us to be a voice to stop the driving deaths in our communities. Even us drivers with a clean record can find places to improve, for me, I could rest longer before driving to school, to ensure that I have no ounce of exhaustion in my body, when entering a vehicle. Strive to make personal improvements to how you drive.