The Day I Learnt What a Second Costs

I remember staring at the shocking scene while my dad drove on. Nine at the time, I thought I’d seen something straight out of a horror movie.

The car lay skidded to the side of the road, having toppled over onto the driver’s side. Glass shards glittered across the pavement like ice, and smoke hissed out from under the crumpled hood. Flashing red lights surrounded the area like crime scene tape, as paramedics rushed to the crumpled vehicle and the victims in it.

A day later, our local newspaper revealed the cause. Reckless texting, as my parents put it. A mere second, but it took a whole life.

Years later, when I’d forgotten the incident, I came across this ad – an ad cautioning reckless driving. You know, those PSA commercials that make you think.

It was a girl driving her group of teenage friends. A text from her friend. She reaches out to check, looking away from the road – from the mother and her two babies who are driving in the opposite direction.

Just before the crash, the cars pause. The mother and girl step outside. The mother begs the girl to put her phone away for the sake of her babies, but she shakes her head, apologizing, saying she wouldn’t have looked up in time.

And then they both reenter their cars before the crash, because nothing can change the consequences. The girl chose to look down, sealing her own fate, her friends’ fates, and the fate of the young family ahead.

My mind went back to what that nine-year-old saw that night. They weren’t family to me, nor friends, but they were human lives. They were their own family – gone because of a simple text. And it was then that I realized the true fragility of a human life behind the wheel.

Good driver’s education is critical in reducing such deaths on the road. And by good I don’t mean just the basics – accelerating, braking, changing lanes. I mean understanding the consequences. Comprehending the immense responsibility that you hold the second you sit behind the wheel. When young drivers truly process what’s at stake when they’re driving, they will no doubt choose to be safer and more careful with their choices on a drive. They’ll stay at the speed limit. Keep their phones tucked away. Keep their eyes and ears open all the time. They’ll know better.

But merely developing a better education isn’t enough – we need to make sure that bettered education is out there for everyone to learn from. That it’s truly accessible.

This is where the legal system comes into play. We need laws that require accredited driving schools to include at least one comprehensive lesson focused solely on safe driving, covering topics like distracted driving, impaired driving, and the real-life consequences of recklessness for teens who haven’t started driving yet. But education shouldn’t start at 16. By then, habits and attitudes may already be forming. That’s why it’s equally important for legislation to mandate including basic driving safety lessons in school health curriculums, starting as early as middle school. Learning about these topics early on can shape lifelong awareness and caution.

Beyond education, the legal system must also strictly enforce safe driving practices. Existing laws on texting while driving, speeding, and seatbelt use must be enforced consistently, with meaningful penalties that actually stop any risky behavior. By doing so, we can create a culture where safety is the priority on the road.

But when can teens like me do? How can I play a part in helping society strive for this kind of culture?

I can stop being silent.

In the teen community in my school, what are meant to be taken as serious issues are often brushed aside as jokes, and this could not even more true for the driving culture.

Friends joking about swerving just for fun, bragging about “how fast they can drive”, and pulling their phone out saying it’ll just be a “quick check” – it’s these small things that add up and create these growing lack of responsibility, desensitizing students to the consequences of their actions.

And I’ve stayed quiet. But silence isn’t safety. I’ve realized that being a safe driver means being a safe passenger too. The next time I see a friend take a risk behind the wheel, I won’t hesitate to speak up. Because their life, my life, and the lives of everyone else on the road, are more important than convenience.

Fortunately, I have never seen a loved one in a car crash, or been in one myself, but that day I saw that crash and the day I came across that ad left something permanent with me. A warning. A responsibility.

We don’t get a pause button like the girl in the PSA to realize what we’ve done. But we do get the chance to make the right choice every time we drive.

So, let’s choose safety.