Reckless driving ruins lives

It was late. My uncle was drinking with a friend, and they decided to go for a ride in his four-wheeler. Feeling reckless, they were speeding but as my uncle went to make a sharp right turn, they flipped into a ditch. The handlebar went into his stomach and his guts went flying out. As they lay there in a ditch bleeding out and near death, his friend, although he had injured his spleen, mustered up enough strength in him to get out his phone and call for help. Being out in the middle of nowhere, it took some time for the ambulance to find them. However, they were rushed to the hospital, had emergency surgery, and, thanks to God, they both survived.

This was very eye-opening for me personally because a few months earlier, my family and I had gone out there, and we rode his four-wheeler. While we were not drunk, we rode a little recklessly by speeding. After hearing what happened, we were so thankful, as that could have easily happened to one of us and could have very devastating results. It was not until that moment I realized the devastating effects that can happen from not driving safely.

Reckless driving not only impacts the reckless driver but also endangers the innocent people around and can lead to very tragic results for them as well. A 20-year-old young man who is a member of the church I attend was hit by a car while walking across the street. From that moment on, his life changed forever. Before that, he was enrolled at the University of South Florida majoring in international languages and had a dream of traveling the world. All of that got crushed in an instant. He was in a coma and suffered severe brain injury. Along with that, he broke his femur, knee, and many bones in his right knee. He also suffered injury to his bladder, spleen, and had many facial fractions. Although he has come a long way since the accident 4 years ago, his life will never be the same, and he will never be able to do what he dreamed of doing. He needs 24-hour monitoring and cannot be left alone. He has trouble walking and many days experiences anger and frustration that he can’t live a normal life. Doing something as innocent as walking on the road can leave traumatic effects all because of a driver being reckless.

There are over 6 million passenger car accidents a year, with over 34,000 people dying from them. Unfortunately, this makes it one of the leading causes of death in our country. What is even more unfortunate is that many of these are avoidable because they are due to reckless driving. In fact, reckless driving is the leading cause of car accidents. Driving recklessly endangers both your life and everyone else around you. Many people do not realize the devastating effects of it until something tragic happens and that is why driver’s ed is so important. People need to be educated prior to driving on the road as it will decrease the number of avoidable accidents and have a significant impact on our country.

Reckless driving does not only include speeding, but also texting while driving, drinking, talking, and anything that takes your focus off the road. Even if it is as innocent as turning your head back to your arguing children in the back seat. As humans, we tend to overestimate our abilities, but the truth is this, it can happen to any one of us, and you do not want to wait for something tragic to happen before you regret it. If we all thought twice about our actions and consequences when we drove, we would have a lot fewer car accident. We should all be asking ourselves, am I endangering someone’s life? And is it worth endangering an innocent life?

Having knowledge of traffic rules and following them is key to ensuring you are not a reckless driver. This includes obeying the speed limits, using blinkers, keeping a safe distance between other vehicles, and much more. Can you imagine what the roads would look like if everyone followed the traffic and safety rules? It sounds like a dream. A dream that can turn into reality, but it is going to take a group effort and obeying the rules to do so. This is why driver’s ed is very practical as it educates drivers about the safety rules and dangers of driving.