Precious Life

Driving Education is extremely important regardless of age. I advocate that driving education resources should be advertised often, especially for minors. Driving education should be mandatory at an affordable price for beginner drivers and seniors. Careless and selfish drivers can cause accidents that affect the lives of other people as well as the driver. We all use transportation to complete our daily tasks. Whether you are a driver or not, it should be mandatory to take driver’s education every year to understand what is the best result to achieve if you witness an accident or in a car accident. Often times minors aren’t put in driver’s education because it is too expensive, and seniors drive under the influence with confidence and cause an accident. A few steps I suggest to reduce the number of deaths related to driving is to understand your limits. People drink and assume they can drive home perfectly fine and cause an accident. Never drink and drive alone, always have a group of friends that are trustworthy. Having friends who care about others and yourself safety will not let you drive home because it can result in an accident. Don’t drive drowsy, and never get distracted. Anything can happen suddenly and if you are distracted or drowsy this can result in deaths. People like to assume they drive well, but you don’t have to only be aware of drivers, but also pedestrians walking or riding bicycles. On September 23, 2023, I was a passenger with my cousins in a car driving home on the freeway when we got rear-ended by a 19 drunk driver. I was in the hospital for one month in a coma, rehab for two months, and I am currently in outpatient therapy for speech, occupational, and physical. This was and currently is a traumatic life experience I have ever endured. I was a junior attending the University of Houston and completed my second internship in August. I was close to graduating with my bachelor’s in construction management, but I need to repeat this year because of my accident. I took a medical withdrawal from my studies, but I got approval from my doctor to return to school for the Fall 2024 semester. In my accident, I broke my left femur, ribs, collarbone, jaw, and had a brain injury. The drunk driver also killed my dog in the car accident. My recovery has been slow but I’m slowly improving as the days go by. I refuse to let this affect me negatively, and I’m looking forward to returning to school and driving again. I want to acknowledge that we all need to drive always with caution and be aware because this incident put my life on pause for a while, but with determination and resilience, I will return stronger. Having an experience like mine, makes you understand how precious life is, and you can never take anything for granted. The drunk 19-year-old boy who barely graduated from school is resulting in the consequences of his actions for careless driving and flipped his life around at a young age. As for me and my cousins, innocent bystanders have gone through a life-changing experience.

After my experience in a life-threatening car accident and having a brain injury. I will repeat driving education school, so I can learn all the skills and gain reassurance behind the wheel before I start driving around in public. Even if I’m not drunk, being afraid can also cause an accident, therefore, I want to conquer my fear of driving at a driving school and take driving lessons again. I will also advocate to my friends and family the damage they can cause if they don’t drive with caution and are more aware of their surroundings. To become a safer driver, I will cut out distractions, be aware of my surroundings, and always think safety first. I can oversee my actions; however, I cannot understand how others drive. After my accident, it has made me more aware of all my surroundings even behind me. I would often check my rearview mirror occasionally but focus on the road ahead. In my case scenario, I want to be aware of what is behind me, so I can create an escape route. We must understand especially as young adults that life can never be taken for granted, and within a blink of an eye it can be changed. Life is precious, and we are only granted one, therefore, when you drive don’t only think about what can affect you, but your love ones as well.