Road Responsibility

Road
Responsibility

As
a fifteen year old with a newly acquired driver’s permit, I woke up
one morning excited to apply my recently procured skill when driving
to Los Angeles with my family. However, within two hours of driving,
I became complacent. I was driving seventy mph in a sixty-five mph
area with a following distance of about two seconds. After I checked
my rearview mirror for about five seconds, I again looked forward
finding traffic stopped. Unfortunately, I didn’t brake quickly
enough and I rear ended the car ahead of me, totaling my parent’s
car. Thankfully, there weren’t any injuries.

After
this incident, I further realized the major responsibility
accompanied with driving. Terrified, I didn’t want to take the
wheel again. I learned valuable lessons from this accident. Lives
are precious and reckless complacent driving remains a threat to
these lives. Now I drive the speed limit, knowing that these limits
exist to prevent collisions. Furthermore, I quickly glance in my
rearview mirror for a second, making sure I also maintain a larger
gap between myself and the vehicle ahead of me in order to have more
reaction time. I’ve used my experience to help educate and impact
friends, family, and other people in my community about road
responsibility. Being the first of my friends, siblings, and cousins
to drive, I’ve been a role model for them and able to influence
their view of the road. Now, as a seventeen year old, I drive my
friends and siblings around town. I’ve clearly instructed them,
and they understand, that while I’m driving, they can’t mess
around and distract me because complacency and distraction pave the
road for accidents.

Driver
education warned me against each of the errors I made when my
accident occurred. It equipped me with knowledge of the perils and
rules of the road. Moreover, it taught me how to respond in
difficult and troublesome situations. Everything that I learned in
my drivers ed course helped in readying me for the application
of driving safely. However, as an inexperienced fifteen year old
driver attempting to employ all this new knowledge and allowing my
pride and complacency to consume me, I still drove irresponsibly.
Had I heeded the instruction of the drivers ed; I would’ve
had an improved prospect of avoiding my accident.

An
awareness of road responsibility definitely influences how one
decides to drive. I’ve realized that drivers ed doesn’t
conclude when you receive your license, but that it’s a lifelong
challenge and pursuit. I continue to reflect on what I learned in
drivers ed and endeavor to apply it and always drive safely.
Also, I take opportunities to educate my friends, family, and others
to drive responsibly. Constant reminders of road responsibility must
be instilled to prevent complacency and keep the road safe for
everyone.