Live to Drive–Drive to Live

Taking driver’s education courses is one of the most important and responsible decisions a person will ever make. A child really, at the age of 15 or 16 years old will enter the first day of the driver’s education course with sweaty palms and uncertain expectations. By the time the driver’s education course is complete, the student becomes an adult with very severe commitments to society at large. To learn that the new driver is in control of a lethal weapon (which is what my driver’s education instructor) always referred to cars and vehicles being, is an awe inspiring idea. Once a child, now an adult with the weight of the world on one’s shoulders and along with this comes the excitement and FREEDOM of being able to go and drive and do anything one wants to do is quite an exciting notion. Driving and vehicles truly opens the world to the new driver and provides hopes and dreams and possibilities that were never known prior to taking the driver’s education course.

There are many steps that can be taken to reduce the number of deaths related to driving. The first of which being control of speed. If driver’s slow down, this provides them an opportunity to think and make good decisions about what should happen next. Driving fast increases the risk of accidents and loss of control of vehicles. Treating your car as a loved one in which you care for and look after is important too. You treat your loved ones well and one can treat their car well too. Being extra cautious to not harm the car or any other vehicles in any way. Treating vehicles like they are lethal weapons and making sure to show the vehicles respect and treat them in a way that does not increase risk of death or injury. Manufacturing safer vehicles and including mechanisms in vehicles that would help to reduce the risk of injury for the driver and passengers would be another way to help reduce the number of deaths related to driving.

Unfortunately, I have had an experience of being in a car accident and it remains foremost in my mind even today. The motor vehicle accident happened ten years ago when I was in the second grade. Like most other days, my Mom was driving my brother (who was in Kindergarten) and me to school at 7:45 am one morning. It was a typical day. We were only about an eighth of a mile from our home and we were heading West on our street. Just at the same time, a new driver was driving East on our same street. We came around the curve driving very fast and he was unable to turn into his own side of the road (likely due to driving too fast) and he was unable to right his car. He was driving at least 30 to 40 miles per hour even thought there was a curve sign that listed the maximum speed limit of 15 miles per hour. He did not have complete control of his vehicle. He ended up crashing the front end of his car (driver side) into the front end of our van (driver side). While my Mom, my Brother, and I were very startled and scared, we thankfully were not physically injured. We all cried and screamed and got out of the van to find our vehicle all smashed up, undrivable, and totalled. My Brother and I were so scared and we continue to remember the bright lights of the police cars flashing at the scene of the accident. To this day, I get a little post traumatic stress reaction when I am going down a road in the car and another car comes from a side street or road. I fear that the other car won’t stop and will crash right into me. Driving too fast or distracted driving is a very dangerous practice. My own and my family’s life may have been lost due to the careless mistake of a stranger.

By sharing my car crash experience, it helps others to know that the decisions they make are not just about them. We all share the road and we all have the upmost in responsibility to use the road in a safe and wise manner. Taking initial driver’s education courses and then brush up courses every 3-5 years may help people to be better drivers and at the very least would remind us of the importance of good and safe driving habits. If a person has been in an accident that is deemed their own fault, there should be a period of time when that person is not allowed to drive at all. If a person has more than one accident due to careless or reckless driving then the person should never be allowed to drive again. This sounds harsh, but would likely mean the difference between life and death and in many instances the life or death of an innocent bystander. We need to take the awesome responsibility of driving with the utmost of seriousness and respect. The vehicle is in our hands, as such life (and possibly death) is in our hands as well. Drive responsibly, it’s the law, our lives depend on it!!