Name: Daniel Kurowski
From: Cheektowaga, New York
Votes: 0
It’s terrifying
to hear the factual statistics about vehicular-caused casualties.
It’s frightening to think that a slight distraction could end a
life. How many distractions are worth your life?
None.
Drivers ed is
a proactive program that inspires a major realisation within the
minds of all its students; irresponsible driving can kill.
Instructors are passionate in their work because they understand the
irreversible pain they have felt after a driver’s life they were
once part of ended abruptly.
I once had an
instructor like this. He taught me that people won’t understand the
pain until it happens to them, but after losing someone he loved, he
devoted his life to taking action.
He taught me what I
wish to teach others: a way to reduce the amount of death and loss. I
believe targeting students in high school that either will begin in a
few years or just began driving is where they are most vulnerable and
willing to listen to preventative actions. I believe that all juniors
and seniors should be exposed to a slightly graphic video that shows
kids their age in a car full of their friends and the driver texting
for a second followed by a fatal t-bone accident that leaves the
driver injured and all passengers died during their required health
classes. This is an exact example of what I have been shown, and I
jumped just watching the incoming car from the passenger side window.
Another effective method would be to invite all students in a high
school to an assembly where there is a panel of car crash survivors
who can share their stories and images with everyone. Both of
these experiences still today make my heartbeat spike when my phone
vibrates while I’m driving my car.
I luckily was only
ever in one car accident and it was minor. The driver made a late
merge and was hit by a car in the other lane. Regardless of the minor
damage, it made me realise that not all people will be devoted to
safe driving as I will be, so I need to be cautious of others’
mistakes as well as my own.
The remainder of my
driving life will include keeping in mind these lessons I’ve
learned and speaking them to those who I drive with. I will also get
people to download apps on their phones that interrupt and respond to
text messages immediately with a premade message to prevent anticing
distractions for the driver.
I don’t plan on
living my life thinking and preaching as if I’m the best driver. I
will take note, however, that my life and the lives of those in my
car are worth way more than ten seconds of anything in this world.
Thank You
