Never Forget

Never
Forget

We
had been looking forward to the day for a long time. Anxiety and
excitement lingered in the air as my family and I loaded up the car
to make the journey to my brother’s state wrestling tournament. He
had been practicing for a long time and was confident he would
perform well. As his support crew, my family did their best to
prepare for everything they could. We left early to avoid traffic; we
packed ice to treat an injury; we called his coach to verify the
location. However, no one could have prepared for what happened on
our drive.

My
mom had driven the canyon over a hundred times– she could tell you
where every corner and passing lane started and ended. Albeit,
sometimes even the most experienced drivers cannot avoid catastrophe.
No one saw the two gleaming eyes peering out of the thick trees, and
before my mom could react our vehicle had collided with a four-point
buck. Our car had undergone serious damage; but, thankfully, the only
living thing injured that day was the buck.

The
biggest danger in driving is becoming comfortable. Neither I or my
family had even thought of the possibility that we would not get to
our destination safely. We were too occupied with our distractions to
be looking for potential dangers on the road. Sadly, I do not believe
my family’s driving habits that day grouped us with the minority of
drivers but rather the majority. In order to reduce the number of
vehicle accidents and, therefore, casualties, all drivers must
realize no amount of experience or talent excludes someone from the
dangers of the road. This is why drivers ed should be
implemented to all drivers, not just beginners.

Driver
education helps students to become aware of how to conduct safe
driving habits and prevent accidents through well thought out
curriculums. Through time, drivers often forget what they learn in
these courses and fall into a cycle of habit. This leads to dangerous
driving behaviours such as texting and speeding that cause many
traffic accident casualties. If drivers ed was implemented
every five to six years rather than once in a lifetime it would help
drivers never to forget the dangers of being on the road and how to
safely avoid them.

Ever
since the day my brother never got to make it to his tournament, I
have taken potential accidents of driving very seriously. I will
continue to choose not to become complacent nor forget I am not in
control of everything that happens on the road. Sharing my message to
those I come in contact with and reminding individuals to drive smart
is something I strive to do everyday. I promised myself I would never
forget the day of my brother’s wrestling tournament and that I
would do everything I can to prevent another accident– good thing I
do break promises.