The Harsh Reality

The
Harsh Reality

The harsh
reality is that driving is hard. Really hard. It’s hard to keep
your foot pressed oh-so-slightly so you keep that perfect speed
limit. It’s hard to constantly dart your eyes to the left-side
mirror, to the rearview, to the right-side mirror, to the
speedometer, to the road, to the lights, to your blind spots, and
back again. It’s hard to keep yourself calm, clenching on to the
steering wheel as you drive through traffic. These are all feelings
that new drivers, especially teenagers, experience on the road. Now
add e-cigarettes, phones and air pods into the mix. Not only do you
have a stressed driver, you also have a very distracted and
unpredictable driver. Unfortunately, many of these unpredictable
drivers are causing one very predictable outcome and an even worse
harsh reality—death.

In today’s
world, there is only so much that drivers ed can do to
prepare new drivers. Instructors can tell the do’s and don’ts,
show educational videos, and guide students as they drive multiple
roads around town. This information is important to young drivers
because it gives the basic rules of the road, helping teens out who
are just starting to learn how to drive safely. In some, if not many
cases, lots of accidents and deaths are prevented simply by following
the basic rules—checking your blind spot, braking at a safe
distance, and obeying the signs or signals.

The harsh
reality is, we need to take more drastic measures to emphasize the
consequences of distracted driving. At Blue Valley Northwest High
School, our S.A.F.E. (Seatbelts Are for Everyone) team wants to hold
a prom crash, having real students and the Kansas Highway Patrol act
out a scene where one of our peers dies in a car crash during prom.
The catch is, only a handful of people will know it’s fake, while
the rest of the class will see the crash as an example to not drive
while distracted. In addition, all states need to have a strict law
that requires “hands-free driving”—if a phone, vape or any
other item distracts a driver, they will be fined hundreds, if not
thousands, of dollars. This law took effect on July 1^st
of 2019 in Tennessee. Currently only 18 of 50 states have a
hands-free law for all ages. If all the states had this law,
driving-related fatalities would likely decrease significantly.

For me, I
want everyone to be safe. I’ve only been in one accident, and it
was caused by ice. The driver had no control of the situation. With
distracted driving, we have control. We decide if we are driving
safely. For my family, I always get frustrated when my parents text
while driving. By constantly pushing my family and friends to make
safe decisions, spreading awareness, and being an advocate against
distracted driving, I know that I can make a difference personally,
in hopes that deaths caused by distractions don’t become a harsh
reality.