The Drives That Show Me A Better Way

I was raised by alcoholic parents. As a child I was blinded to the fact that my father drove drunk frequently with us in the car. It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I learned my father drove to my mother’s apartment drunk. He was a very abusive man, when he left, he was so engulfed in his rage he attempted to hit me with his jeep. The only punishment he received and a DUI. When I was 20, I was pregnant with my first daughter. One day we were driving to the corner market, I noticed the little signs that he was intoxicated. I was beyond infuriated; I told him to pull over. I was so upset he didn’t just risk his life, the public, my life but my unborn child. That day we did decide the rule of “I buy, you fly” meaning he would send me to the store with money to get what ever he needed.

After that occurrence I spoke with my mother, she had a lot to talk about his drinking and driving. I learned he had several DUIs, arrests, and court ordered AA. All spanning over the course of the 22 years my mother knew him. I know of at least one more DUI he received since I left Washington state. I only found out when the house arrest company called due to missed payment. With learning this information, I had quickly formed an opinion we need stricter punishments for repeat offenders. The AA, house arrest, interlock system only lasts so long and then they’re back out there drinking and driving. I honestly believe my father’s license should be revoked. I had to accept that he would most likely die in a motor accident while drinking.

The first real car accident I experience was the death of several friends. In high school a group of my friends used to always try to get me to skip school with them to go riding around. I never did, because I didn’t want to get caught. One day I got the call saying that they were speeding excessively, hit a curb, spun around and hit a tree. The car quickly caught fire killing 3 of the 4 boys. Couple years later, my boyfriend at the time received a call saying his teenage cousin had died in a car accident. I was extremely heart breaking to hear someone close to us died at 15 years old in a accident. After the funeral I found out that she in an accident because they we’re all doing drugs while speeding down a rural highway.

The most impactful accident my children and I witnessed while driving. I was setting my drink down in the cup holder and corner of my eye I saw the underside of a SUV. Immediately I watched the two cars in front of me. They slammed their brakes, and stopped traffic. I was parked along side the Suv in a ditch. Few people got out and to check on the lady, the lady did get her self out of the car in screaming pain. Once she was laying on the roadway waiting for EMTs. She told us she was in a rush to pick up her kid from that school, looking away to grab her phone. She hit the hill side flipped her car up before landing in a ditch. Being from a medical field background I did advise them to stop touching her and lay her flat since every movement was excruciating, most likely from a broken spine. I spent the rest of the drive explaining to my oldest daughter how dangerous it can really be.

How I intended to help others drive safely is starting with my own children. Making sure not only I educate them properly how to drive and rules of the road. Also by demonstrating it daily. I have set a wide example for my kids by changing the settings in my truck to not allow me to go over 75 MPH. I made that choice because I recognize I have a speeding problem.

Another way I have shown people around me to be a safer driver is to not drive in severe weather. I don’t want them to come to my house and I won’t go to theirs. I always plan ahead when a storm comes. Get everything, I need to stay home. I have heard too many stories of accidents with people trapped in their vehicles. Nothing is that important to leave in the bad weather.

The leading cause of death by motor vehicle is distracted driving. Car manufacturers have been trying to implement more ways to reduce this. I think our phone companies should partner with car manufacturers to find a way to disable our phones unless they were logged into hands free mode in the vehicle. I feel like this will be more beneficial to younger drivers but still good for everyone.

Since I have several bad occurrences with drunk drivers, we need to look into why people are still doing it. We all have free will, but we also have a lot of people controlling their unhealthy desires and choices with the laws we have in place. I think taxis, and ride share companies need a lower cost for people to utilize instead of trying to get home. We already have laws making sure bartenders aren’t over serving patrons. Although it is still happening frequently, there should be a better way to monitor servers from allowing it to still be an issue.

I do believe as a society we can improve our ways and lower the deaths caused by driving. Some people might need more education to help them know how to be safer and the outcomes of what can happen. We can utilize technology better to help take away distractions. Finally find more effective ways to lower the number of drunk drivers on our roads every day and night. Everyone deserves a safe drive home.