Don’t Turn Until You See the Whites in the Lanes

Irresponsible and reckless driving is just that. Irresponsible and reckless. As a young college student, I see far too many drivers my age that make light of reckless driving, and think that it is fun to swerve on the highway, or criminally speed in order to get a reaction out of their friends, or impress a girl. Additionally, there are far too many people who think that driving under the influence is an activity to be joked about. It is vital to the lives of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians that we as a people become more educated on safe and responsible driving.

One aspect of operating a car that many people neglect to consider is the fact that your actions behind the wheel do not only affect you. While you are driving, your life, any passengers lives, the lives of the other people on the road, and the lives of any pedestrians are in your hands, and a serious accident can change the trajectory of someone’s life forever. For example, when I was a senior in high school, we had a two day long assembly entitled “Every 15 Minutes”. This assembly was meant to educate us on the dangers of driving under the influence. One way they tried to convey the message to us was by bringing in people who have been directly affected by reckless driving. One testimonial given was from a man who lost his leg, and was paralyzed from the waist down while he was driving to work one random morning, at the hands of a drunk driver colliding with his car head on. Because of this other person’s irresponsibility, he now lives his life being taken care of by his wife and children, and has to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Additionally, this man had to quit his job, as he worked in construction and could no longer complete his everyday tasks. One poor decision caused tragic and irreversible consequences.

I have had personal experiences with irresponsible driving as well. Firstly, it is relevant to discuss my name. I, Robyn, and named after my dad’s brother, Robert. Robert died two days after his 18th birthday in a car accident with my other uncle Joey. Joey had smoked a bit of marijuana before getting behind the wheel, and when an issue with one of the tires arose, he wasn’t able to get control of the car, and my family lost one of its members. I have heard many stories about Robert, and am very proud to have been named after him; however, I would’ve loved to have my connection to him be based on family christmases, dance recitals, and birthdays, rather than stories and photographs.

While the effects of reckless driving have changed my life since I was born, I had a more recent and direct run in with this epidemic about a year ago. Last year, me and a good friend of mine decided to go on a last minute road trip from Long Beach, CA to my sister’s apartment in Salt Lake City, UT for a concert she scored free tickets to. Our plan was to make this drive on a Tuesday, go to the concert Wednesday night, then drive overnight to make it back in time for our classes and jobs on Thursday. While my friend was confident that as long as we stocked up on energy drinks, the drive home would be a cake walk, me (along with my family)were feeling anxious about the drive, especially since it was supposed to snow while we were out of town. We decided to email our professors and call out of our jobs on Thursday so we could get a bit of sleep before heading out. Thursday morning we left at about 4:45 in the morning, and I took the first shift driving so that my friend could sleep a bit more. After driving for a few hours, I began to feel a bit tired myself, but continued forward. My exhaustion eventually took over and we started to swerve off the road. We hit the dirt and bushes to our right and as a reflex I yanked the wheel to the left. We spun out a bit and landed on the other side of the road. What happened next could easily be assumed. Someone drove by and stopped to help us, got a tow, and found out the car was totaled. While I never intended to be distracted to the point of unconsciousness, it was reckless nonetheless. If there were anyone else on the road, or even signs and poles off to the side, the end of that story could have been very different.

Spreading information about safe driving practices is something that has the potential to save many lives. Growing up we are always told about texting and driving, drinking and driving etc. but irresponsible driving can look very different. Maybe it’s someone too into a song on the radio and losing focus, or doing their makeup, or catching their gaze moving over to the stores across the road instead of the road itself. It is very important to discuss all kinds of irresponsible driving, because many people could be behaving dangerously behind the wheel unintentionally. The more knowledge the public has on this topic, the safer the roads will be for everyone.