Driving Changes Lives

2 months ago I was heading home from school when I got a text from my sister that would change my world. We were together not 20 minutes prior and instead of heading home right away, I stopped to grab smoothies. My sister had been driving when she started to roleplay a teaching event that she would be having later that evening, when she looked up to see a red light. She immediately slammed on her brakes, but it was too late. The car she ran into began to spin and when things started to slow down, she was able to get out of the car to find out that the girl she had hit was okay. I arrived on the scene to find my sister and shaky stranger sitting on the curb.

The car crash that my sister was involved in didn’t end anyone’s life that day, but on a daily basis over 100 people in the state of Utah lose someone that they love due to fatal crashes. When you or someone you know experiences the effects of an accident, it can be life altering. After attending traffic school, my sister is back on the road, but as I have begun to ride with her I’ve noticed some major changes in the way that she drives. As soon as we hear her phone buzz, instead of picking it up, she asks me to relay the messages. She drives cautiously and is alert to any changes in the flow of traffic.

What sparked this change in her driving? It could be the impact of the crash she was involved in or it could have been the education that she received as a result. Either way, I believe that we need to spread awareness and by doing so, we will be able to prevent accidents and reduce the number of deaths as a result of driving.

When I was preparing to receive my license, it was required for me to attend an event at my school in which videos were displayed that talked about the dangers of driving unaware. My dad attended the event alongside me and afterwards expressed gratitude for being able to refresh on the importance of being alert while behind the wheel. I believe that it is through education that we can teach others the importance of these same facts. As we educate ourselves and the people around us, we will see patience on the road increase and more awareness will lead us to experience fewer tragedies on the road.

We can also see improvements made as we enforce the laws put into place for the importance of driving alert. In the province of Alberta, Canada most citizens are too afraid to pick up their phone while driving due to the fact that they will be fined $300 when pulled over. They are able to keep people accountable to this law by enforcing movement through their law officers. They pull people over instantly and are strict in keeping them to the high standards of no phone use while behind the wheel. I believe that through enforcing a well regulated law, we can continue to limit the amount of distracted driving that we see on the roads in Utah.

In order to create a change, we need to start acting now to reduce the amount of fatalities through distracted driving. We can do this by reviewing the ways that we drive and seeking ways to improve. Whether it is pulling over to chat on the phone with a friend, or refraining from getting too deep in thought, each way that we can seek improvement can help save a life.

When I was in the 8th grade I was preparing to attend school when my mother received a call from the middle school’s office. The phone call informed me that my history teacher had been involved in a serious accident and passed away instantly. After receiving this phone call I was devastated. Up until this point in my life I had not yet experienced someone close to me lose their life to a car crash. Walking into my teacher’s classroom later that day to see his chair empty was one of the hardest things I had ever done. I promised my family after school that day that I would never drive distracted and have tried to hold true to that promise today. The impact we make on the road can not only end someone’s life, but it can alter the people around them. Through education and making changes today, we can save lives and lower the rates of fatalities through distracted driving.