Name: Jayden Compere
From: coram, NY
Votes: 0
I took a drivers education course during August of 2025 and I learned about impaired driving. It’s not just texting and driving; it’s your GPS while driving, It’s the crash on the side of the road, or it’s even just switching the radio. However my teacher taught us something I would never have thought of; You can’t control everyone else on the road. But what If I told you that you could. What if there was a way to make sure everyone drives safely. Well I’m glad to tell you there is.
Driving in drivers education for the first few weeks showed me a lot. I’ve witnessed people turning on red when a sign explicitly said not to as well as drivers going straight through a stop sign at a four way stop. When I observed this I did nothing wrong, I stopped in front of stop signs, I didn’t turn on red, and I gave myself enough distance to stop while other cars drove in front of me. I asked myself. What if everyone else drove the way I did? Yes I wasn’t experienced, also I was sure not everyone had remembered the 5 hour class they’ve taken. But surely they could do the bare minimum and not disregard the rules of the road. Rules are for a reason I thought. But then I figured out the perfect solution.
I made a promise to myself. That I would protect everyone I know by following the rules of the road. I would practice safe driving and stay aware of impaired driving. In the end I was the captain of my car and I would try and be the safest captain I could be. I took this idea further. What if everyone made this promise? Not only for themselves but for everyone they ever knew. Of course it would be unrealistic for everyone to actually follow through and not go back on their words, but is it really that hard? Cars are the most dangerous vehicle to be in; if everyone treated cars like it, would that change?
How do we get everyone to follow the rules of the road to make that promise to themselves? The short answer is to make that promise to yourself. You can make the difference to stop impaired driving. And by doing that you help reduce the issue, tell others about this promise; Tell them to make a promise. Post online, reach out, write an essay. Just by exposing your dedication to stay safe you become a leader. Help others find that footing within themselves. When you’re on the road everything else comes second until your engine stops.
This is my takeaway. What I believe is the way to protect everyone I’ve ever met while on the road. Driving and lectures in drivers education shows you the reality but it’s up to you to make that promise. That’s why I now see driving as more than transportation; it’s trust. When we go out in our cars and we drive, we’re trusting strangers to stay in their lanes, or stop at lights, and even make decisions that don’t endanger everyone on the road. It’s a silent agreement we all share, one that only works if we all keep our promises.
My Instructor showed us many sentimental videos about people who have died or went to prison for impaired or distracted driving. It was almost always avoidable however often than not people were more than ignorant, they were oblivious. What if that were my mother that was hit, what if it was my sister, my cousin, or my aunt. They were hit because of a text to a friend? That’s astronomical. What if that distracted driver made that promise? Would the scenario be the same? Absolutely not. This promise does not prevent all crashes but it prevents the majority. Just think of how many lives could be saved if a movement to end distracted driving became mobile? One that made distracted driving not in the slightest socially acceptable?
So Jayden, how can I protect everyone I ever met? Do I Just make this promise to myself? Do I teach others about the dangers of distracted driving? Or do I just stay quiet and let this problem persist? Well, share this essay, share this movement, share my promise. If more people took this issue as seriously as it is than your loved ones, my loved ones, essentially everyone we’ve ever known would be 110% safer on the road.
